Chapter 4 of Half Brothers is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Half Brothers is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WINNING THE WORLD. Sidney Martin kept his resolve. He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made. Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor. His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
Chapter 4 of Half Brothers is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
inflected form of “blot” — dry (ink) with blotting paper
From this reading “He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.”
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.”
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
From this reading “Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.”
plural of “opinion” — a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
From this reading “His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.”
bring to an end; settle conclusively
From this reading “Sidney Martin kept his resolve.”
English poet (1554-1586)
From this reading “Sidney Martin kept his resolve.”
possessive form of “uncle” — the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.”
having won
From this reading “WINNING THE WORLD.”
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 “He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.”
In this reading “His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.”
In this reading “His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.”
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 Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
(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 His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
inflected form of “blot” — dry (ink) with blotting paper
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
greatly pleased
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
(physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
bringing death
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sidney Martin kept his resolve.
a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Sidney Martin kept his resolve.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading Sidney Martin kept his resolve.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Above it he built a fair edifice of energy, integrity, and honor.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
plural of “opinion” — a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
bring to an end; settle conclusively
From this reading Sidney Martin kept his resolve.
English poet (1554-1586)
From this reading Sidney Martin kept his resolve.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He blotted out that fatal mistake he had made.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WINNING THE WORLD.
possessive form of “uncle” — the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
having won
From this reading WINNING THE WORLD.
the basic unit of money in South Korea
From this reading His uncle's heart delighted in him, and he won golden opinions from all his uncle's old friends.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading WINNING THE WORLD.
Chapter 4 of Half Brothers by Hesba Stretton holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 199 sentences of Half Brothers, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Half Brothers by Hesba Stretton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Half Brothers by Hesba Stretton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6296 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59094 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59094, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 524 minutes of reading across 1260 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half Brothers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Half Brothers 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 Half Brothers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
