Chapter 4 of Bizarre is here in full — 451 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Bizarre is here in full — 451 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity. Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear. "You bes' get dress', sah. Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes." "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
Chapter 4 of Bizarre is here in full — 451 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
plural of “be” — a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element
From this reading “"You bes' get dress', sah.”
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading “Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.”
adroitness in using the hands
From this reading “Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.”
get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.”
having your attention fixated as though by a spell
From this reading “Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.”
with passionate fervor
From this reading “"Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.”
very attractive; capturing interest
From this reading “Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.”
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading “"Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.”
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.
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 Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
plural of “be” — a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element
From this reading "You bes' get dress', sah.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
adroitness in using the hands
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
put on clothes
From this reading "You bes' get dress', sah.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
having your attention fixated as though by a spell
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
with passionate fervor
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
very attractive; capturing interest
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "You bes' get dress', sah.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You bes' get dress', sah.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Mr. Brush, fascinated, watched the lake disappear.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Fetching a large cloth, she set to work with easy dexterity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah'll have yo' breakfas' ready in a couple o' minutes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You bes' get dress', sah.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Thank Heaven you're here, Maria!" he said fervently.
Chapter 4 of Bizarre by Lawton Mackall holds 451 sentences, grouped into 91 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 451 sentences of Bizarre, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Bizarre by Lawton Mackall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 451 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Bizarre by Lawton Mackall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1785 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42710 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42710, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 148 minutes of reading across 357 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bizarre section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Bizarre 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 Bizarre, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
