Chapter 4 of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch. Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread. "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure. "Oh Dan, it's purring! It must be quite well, mustn't it?"
Chapter 4 of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading “Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.”
young domestic cat
From this reading “For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.”
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading “Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.”
set afire or burning
From this reading “"Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.”
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading “Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.”
-ing form of “purr” — make a soft swishing sound
From this reading “"Oh Dan, it's purring!”
something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
From this reading “Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.”
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading “For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.”
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 For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It must be quite well, mustn't it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh Dan, it's purring!
dearly loved
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
take in solid food
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
opinion or judgment
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh Dan, it's purring!
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
young domestic cat
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
set afire or burning
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading It must be quite well, mustn't it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It must be quite well, mustn't it?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh Dan, it's purring!
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
-ing form of “purr” — make a soft swishing sound
From this reading "Oh Dan, it's purring!
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading It must be quite well, mustn't it?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
in the near future
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For the kitten had opened its eyes, and given itself a little stretch.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Soon it was able to lap some milk out of the saucer, and to eat some crumbled bread.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading It must be quite well, mustn't it?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Ain't it a little dear?" said Becky, her thin face lighted up with pleasure.
Chapter 4 of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes by Amy Walton holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 430 sentences of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes by Amy Walton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes by Amy Walton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2591 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23130 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23130, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 215 minutes of reading across 519 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes 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 Black, White and Gray: A Story of Three Homes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
