Chapter 4 of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I handed him his check. He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money. They roamed about, apparently unrewarded. A puzzled expression came upon his face. The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
Chapter 4 of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition
From this reading “I handed him his check.”
past form of “dive” — drop steeply
From this reading “The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.”
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading “The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.”
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading “I handed him his check.”
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading “The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.”
filled with bewilderment
From this reading “A puzzled expression came upon his face.”
past form of “roam” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.”
push forcefully
From this reading “He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “A puzzled expression came upon his face.”
In this reading “They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “A puzzled expression came upon his face.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A puzzled expression came upon his face.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
from appearances alone
From this reading They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A puzzled expression came upon his face.
examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition
From this reading I handed him his check.
past form of “dive” — drop steeply
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading A puzzled expression came upon his face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A puzzled expression came upon his face.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading I handed him his check.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I handed him his check.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I handed him his check.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I handed him his check.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
in the near future
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
filled with bewilderment
From this reading A puzzled expression came upon his face.
past form of “roam” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The fingers paused in their occupation; presently emerged and dived into another pocket and then into another.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.
push forcefully
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
having acquired or gained nothing
From this reading They roamed about, apparently unrewarded.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading A puzzled expression came upon his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He thrust his fingers into his waistcoat-pocket for the money.
Chapter 4 of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story by Henry Harland holds 439 sentences, grouped into 88 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 439 sentences of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story by Henry Harland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 439 sentences, grouped into 88 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story by Henry Harland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3486 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52704 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52704, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 698 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
