Chapter 4 of Held to Answer: A Novel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Held to Answer: A Novel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Naturally not," admitted the younger man. "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out. "Bob Mitchell! And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool. But after a while I saw he was right.
Chapter 4 of Held to Answer: A Novel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
From this reading “And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “"Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.”
past form of “coax” — influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
From this reading “"Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.”
English aeronautical engineer (1895-1937)
From this reading “"Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.”
in a persistent manner
From this reading “"Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.”
past form of “revile” — spread negative information about
From this reading “And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.”
The quality of being sagacious; keen wisdom and sound judgment. (Sự minh triết, sự sáng suốt.)
From this reading “And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.”
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading “"Naturally not," admitted the younger man.”
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 “"Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.”
In this reading “"Naturally not," admitted the younger man.”
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 But after a while I saw he was right.
inflected form of “admit” — declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading "Naturally not," admitted the younger man.
later than; following
From this reading But after a while I saw he was right.
showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But after a while I saw he was right.
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
past form of “coax” — influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Naturally not," admitted the younger man.
English aeronautical engineer (1895-1937)
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
as might be expected
From this reading "Naturally not," admitted the younger man.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Naturally not," admitted the younger man.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
in a persistent manner
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
past form of “revile” — spread negative information about
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
precisely, exactly
From this reading But after a while I saw he was right.
The quality of being sagacious; keen wisdom and sound judgment. (Sự minh triết, sự sáng suốt.)
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
cut with a saw
From this reading But after a while I saw he was right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Naturally not," admitted the younger man.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And I reviled him for his sagacity, told him he was an altruistic fool.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
during the time that
From this reading "Bob Mitchell," said Scofield, and paused while his thin lips coaxed persistently at the cigar which appeared to have gone out.
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading "Naturally not," admitted the younger man.
Chapter 4 of Held to Answer: A Novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 402 sentences of Held to Answer: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Held to Answer: A Novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Held to Answer: A Novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8277 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44633 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44633, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Held to Answer: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Held to Answer: A Novel 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 Held to Answer: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
