Chapter 4 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured. ‘Very, very strange.’ ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen. ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’ Cytherea looked long at her brother.
Chapter 4 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
goddess of love and beauty and daughter of Zeus in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Venus
From this reading “‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured.”
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading “‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’”
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
From this reading “‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’”
Welsh industrialist and social reformer who founded cooperative communities (1771-1858)
From this reading “‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.”
of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant
From this reading “‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’”
expressing or given to expressing the truth
From this reading “‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’”
not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind
From this reading “‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.”
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 ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Cytherea looked long at her brother.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Cytherea looked long at her brother.
without stop or interruption
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
goddess of love and beauty and daughter of Zeus in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Venus
From this reading ‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
one or the other of two
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Cytherea looked long at her brother.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading ‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured.
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Cytherea looked long at her brother.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Cytherea looked long at her brother.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
used to form the superlative
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading ‘It is indeed,’ Cytherea murmured.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
Welsh industrialist and social reformer who founded cooperative communities (1771-1858)
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading ‘Very, very strange.’
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
in or at that place or location
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
expressing or given to expressing the truth
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
precisely as stated
From this reading ‘Very, very strange.’
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘The man was evidently truthful, for there was not motive sufficient for his invention of such a tale, and he could not have done it either.’
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Why should she have said your most uncommon name?’ continued Owen.
Chapter 4 of Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 195 sentences of Desperate Remedies, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7979 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3044 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3044, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1596 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Desperate Remedies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Desperate Remedies 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 Desperate Remedies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
