Chapter 4 of Everyman's Land is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Everyman's Land is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door. The thing I'd thought impossible had happened. The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me. For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them. We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
Chapter 4 of Everyman's Land is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 playwright and novelist (born in Ireland) who lived in France; wrote plays for the theater of the absurd (1906-1989)
From this reading “The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.”
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.”
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.”
in motion
From this reading “We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.”
out of fashion
From this reading “They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.”
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading “They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
a playwright and novelist (born in Ireland) who lived in France; wrote plays for the theater of the absurd (1906-1989)
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The thing I'd thought impossible had happened.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading The thing I'd thought impossible had happened.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thing I'd thought impossible had happened.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading The thing I'd thought impossible had happened.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
in motion
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
out of fashion
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading For some reason, they seemed as much surprised at sight of me as I at sight of them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
a special situation
From this reading The thing I'd thought impossible had happened.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The thing I'd thought impossible had happened.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The father and mother of Jim Beckett had come to me.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading They sat together, an old-fashioned pair, on an old-fashioned sofa, facing the door.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading We gazed at each other for an instant, all three without moving.
Chapter 4 of Everyman's Land by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 168 sentences of Everyman's Land, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Everyman's Land by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Everyman's Land by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6177 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19806 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19806, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 514 minutes of reading across 1236 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Everyman's Land section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Everyman's Land 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 Everyman's Land, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
