Chapter 1 of Four Short Plays is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Four Short Plays is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
YOUNG OFF. Really! I never met a Russian girl. [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out? GIRL.
Chapter 1 of Four Short Plays is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 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.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “[The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?”
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “[The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?”
a young female
From this reading “I never met a Russian girl.”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “[The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?”
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading “I never met a Russian girl.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “[The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “Really!”
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading “I never met a Russian girl.”
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 I never met a Russian girl.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
a young female
From this reading I never met a Russian girl.
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I never met a Russian girl.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
engage in
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading I never met a Russian girl.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I never met a Russian girl.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading YOUNG OFF.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Really!
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading I never met a Russian girl.
express in words
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [The GIRL gives him another quick look] I say, is it as bad as they make out?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading YOUNG OFF.
Chapter 1 of Four Short Plays by John Galsworthy holds 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 1 holds 349 sentences of Four Short Plays, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Four Short Plays by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 1 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 Four Short Plays by John Galsworthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 688 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2920 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2920, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 57 minutes of reading across 138 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Four Short Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Four Short Plays 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 Four Short Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
