Chapter 4 of Dorset dear is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Dorset dear is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face. “I have it,” he cried. “I have thought of a job for the old fellow! We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!” He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
Chapter 4 of Dorset dear is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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 small house with a single story
From this reading “He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.”
small freshwater fish of South America and the West Indies; often kept in aquariums
From this reading “We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!””
a corner by a fireplace
From this reading “He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.”
past form of “re-enter” — enter again
From this reading “He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.”
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading “We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!””
the resistance encountered when one body is moved in contact with another
From this reading “He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.”
young nobleman attendant on a knight
From this reading “The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.”
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 ““I have thought of a job for the old fellow!”
In this reading “He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.”
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 Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
lacking funds
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
cotton trousers made of corduroy cloth
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
a small house with a single story
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “I have it,” he cried.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
a boy or man
From this reading “I have thought of a job for the old fellow!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “I have thought of a job for the old fellow!
at or to or toward the front
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
small freshwater fish of South America and the West Indies; often kept in aquariums
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I have it,” he cried.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I have it,” he cried.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I have it,” he cried.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
a corner by a fireplace
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I have it,” he cried.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading “I have thought of a job for the old fellow!
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I have thought of a job for the old fellow!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “I have thought of a job for the old fellow!
above and across; more than
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
past form of “re-enter” — enter again
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
the resistance encountered when one body is moved in contact with another
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
young nobleman attendant on a knight
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
not in physical motion
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The Squire cogitated, and then a sudden light broke over his face.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I have thought of a job for the old fellow!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
in or at the place that
From this reading He re-entered the cottage, and approached the inglenook where John still sat, leaning forward, and slowly rubbing the knees of his corduroys.
but in spite of that
From this reading We’ll put him to rights yet, Mrs. Guppy--see if we don’t!”
Chapter 4 of Dorset dear by M. E. Francis holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 415 sentences of Dorset dear, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dorset dear by M. E. Francis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Dorset dear by M. E. Francis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5038 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75281 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75281, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 419 minutes of reading across 1008 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dorset dear section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Dorset dear 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 Dorset dear, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
