Chapter 4 of Contact, and Other Stories is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Contact, and Other Stories is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well? Then what was it? I’m waiting.” “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you. I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
Chapter 4 of Contact, and Other Stories is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading ““Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.”
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading “I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.”
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading “I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.”
on the contrary
From this reading “I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.”
express in words
From this reading ““Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.”
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading “I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “I’m waiting.””
(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 ““Well?”
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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’m waiting.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then what was it?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
on the contrary
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
express in words
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then what was it?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading I’d rather have the heart torn out of my body then tell you.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading I’m waiting.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then what was it?
(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 “Well?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Then what was it?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Anne, I don’t know how to tell you.
Chapter 4 of Contact, and Other Stories by Frances Noyes Hart holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 425 sentences of Contact, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Contact, and Other Stories by Frances Noyes Hart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Contact, and Other Stories by Frances Noyes Hart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4661 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61138 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61138, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 388 minutes of reading across 933 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Contact, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Contact, and Other Stories 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 Contact, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
