Chapter 4 of Back to Life is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Back to Life is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle! Paris is far from Lille.” “I was stupid,” said the girl. “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille. Any town.
Chapter 4 of Back to Life is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading ““Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!”
an industrial city in northern France near the Belgian border; was the medieval capital of Flanders
From this reading “Paris is far from Lille.””
small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico
From this reading ““Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!”
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading ““Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.”
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading “Paris is far from Lille.””
superlative of “small” — limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ““Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!”
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading ““I was stupid,” said the girl.”
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading ““Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.”
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 ““Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!”
In this reading ““Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Any town.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Paris is far from Lille.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Paris is far from Lille.”
a young female
From this reading “I was stupid,” said the girl.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I was stupid,” said the girl.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Paris is far from Lille.”
an industrial city in northern France near the Belgian border; was the medieval capital of Flanders
From this reading Paris is far from Lille.”
small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading Paris is far from Lille.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I was stupid,” said the girl.
superlative of “small” — limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading “I was stupid,” said the girl.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I was stupid,” said the girl.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “Not all the way to Paris, but to some town outside Lille.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading “Not the smallest chance in the world, mademoiselle!
Chapter 4 of Back to Life by Philip Gibbs holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of Back to Life, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Back to Life by Philip Gibbs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Back to Life by Philip Gibbs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Back to Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Back to Life 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 Back to Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
