Chapter 4 of Idle Hour Stories is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Idle Hour Stories is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"All right! Get to work!" commanded the crowd. "You have on just the dress for the business." "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency. Shall we try?"
Chapter 4 of Idle Hour Stories is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading “Get to work!" commanded the crowd.”
the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat
From this reading “"Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.”
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading “Get to work!" commanded the crowd.”
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading “"Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.”
inspired with confidence
From this reading “"Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.”
a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
From this reading “"Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.”
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading “"Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.”
with smiles; in a smiling manner
From this reading “"Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.”
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 "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
(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 "All right!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading Get to work!" commanded the crowd.
the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Get to work!" commanded the crowd.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
put on clothes
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
inspired with confidence
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get to work!" commanded the crowd.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
and nothing more
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "All right!
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Shall we try?"
with smiles; in a smiling manner
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
express a supposition
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Get to work!" commanded the crowd.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Get to work!" commanded the crowd.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Shall we try?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, Mrs. Ingalls," smilingly encouraged a plump matron, "I suppose we might do as good cooking here as we have done at home in times of emergency.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Get to work!" commanded the crowd.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have on just the dress for the business."
Chapter 4 of Idle Hour Stories by Eugenia Dunlap Potts holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 396 sentences of Idle Hour Stories, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Idle Hour Stories by Eugenia Dunlap Potts exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Idle Hour Stories by Eugenia Dunlap Potts on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3188 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15078 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15078, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 265 minutes of reading across 638 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Idle Hour Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Idle Hour Stories 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 Idle Hour Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
