Chapter 4 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RADIUM. Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table. Rupert heard the clink of coins. "Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered. "Look!
Chapter 4 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/63 · 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 flexible container with a single opening
From this reading “Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.”
make a high sound typical of glass
From this reading “Rupert heard the clink of coins.”
plural of “coin” — a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money
From this reading “Rupert heard the clink of coins.”
an intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores
From this reading “RADIUM.”
a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.”
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading “Rupert heard the clink of coins.”
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading “Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.”
a garment that covers the head and face
From this reading “Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.”
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 “Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.”
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.”
as might be expected
In this reading “"Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered.”
In this reading “Rupert heard the clink of coins.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
on or to one side
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
make a high sound typical of glass
From this reading Rupert heard the clink of coins.
plural of “coin” — a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money
From this reading Rupert heard the clink of coins.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading "Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Rupert heard the clink of coins.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Look!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rupert heard the clink of coins.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
an intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores
From this reading RADIUM.
a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading Rupert heard the clink of coins.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Of course, I’ve got it," she stammered.
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
a garment that covers the head and face
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading Ruby Stroke threw aside the heavy veil she wore and placed her bag on the table.
Chapter 4 of Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin holds 315 sentences, grouped into 63 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 315 sentences of Blackthorn Farm, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 315 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5795 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42519 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42519, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 482 minutes of reading across 1159 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blackthorn Farm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Blackthorn Farm 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 Blackthorn Farm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
