Chapter 4 of Erik Dorn is here in full — 332 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Erik Dorn is here in full — 332 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep. It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear. Later, people had become like that to her. When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school. She learned nothing and forgot nothing.
Chapter 4 of Erik Dorn is here in full — 332 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan
From this reading “When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.”
not carefully or expertly made
From this reading “It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.”
being one more than seventeen
From this reading “When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.”
any material that fills a space or container
From this reading “It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.”
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “She learned nothing and forgot nothing.”
so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly
From this reading “It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.”
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading “When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.”
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading “When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.”
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 When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
in a state of sleep
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Later, people had become like that to her.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
a young person of either sex
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
not carefully or expertly made
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
being one more than seventeen
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
any material that fills a space or container
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading She learned nothing and forgot nothing.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Later, people had become like that to her.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Later, people had become like that to her.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading She learned nothing and forgot nothing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Later, people had become like that to her.
so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading She learned nothing and forgot nothing.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Later, people had become like that to her.
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
an educational institution
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading When she was eighteen Rachel came to Chicago and studied art at an art school.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Later, people had become like that to her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
at the time that
From this reading When she was a child she used to see a face in the dark as she was falling asleep.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was crude and misshapen, and leered at her, filling her heart with fear.
Chapter 4 of Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht holds 332 sentences, grouped into 67 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 332 sentences of Erik Dorn, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 332 sentences, grouped into 67 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 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 67 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 Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9290 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22358 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22358, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1858 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Erik Dorn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Erik Dorn 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 Erik Dorn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
