Chapter 2 of Four Short Plays is here in full — 339 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Four Short Plays is here in full — 339 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window. A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares. The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving. He looks round into her face. In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
Chapter 2 of Four Short Plays is here in full — 339 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/67 · 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 feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
From this reading “At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.”
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.”
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading “At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.”
an event that is substituted for a previously cancelled event
From this reading “In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.”
move stealthily
From this reading “The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.”
held in check with difficulty
From this reading “At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.”
not hallowed or consecrated
From this reading “In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.”
plural of “ware” — articles of the same kind or material; usually used in combination: “silverware”, “software”
From this reading “A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.”
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 A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
a youthful male person
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He looks round into her face.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He looks round into her face.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading He looks round into her face.
an event that is substituted for a previously cancelled event
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He looks round into her face.
move stealthily
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
held in check with difficulty
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
arousing affect
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
not hallowed or consecrated
From this reading In spite of make-up it has a queer, unholy, touching beauty.
not in motion
From this reading The GIRL's fingers slip between his own, and stay unmoving.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
plural of “ware” — articles of the same kind or material; usually used in combination: “silverware”, “software”
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading A newspaper boy some way off is calling his wares.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading At that intense soft bitterness in her voice, he gets up, feeling stifled, and stands at the window.
Chapter 2 of Four Short Plays by John Galsworthy holds 339 sentences, grouped into 68 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 2 holds 339 sentences of Four Short Plays, unabridged, divided into 68 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Four Short Plays by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 339 sentences, grouped into 68 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 68 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 68 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 2 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.
