Chapter 4 of In the Roaring Fifties is here in full — 398 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 In the Roaring Fifties is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes. 'How's that?' 'You don't talk. Worse still, you don't smoke.' 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
Chapter 4 of In the Roaring Fifties is here in full — 398 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.
plural of “catch” — a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident
From this reading “'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'”
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading “'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.”
occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company
From this reading “'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'”
an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning
From this reading “'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'”
tell false information to for fun
From this reading “'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'”
a pair of people who live together
From this reading “'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'”
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading “'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.”
possessive form of “smoking” — the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading “'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'”
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 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
the past participle of “be”
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
plural of “catch” — a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'You don't talk.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'How's that?'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
tell false information to for fun
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
immediately past
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
a pair of people who live together
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
not any; not one
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading Worse still, you don't smoke.'
possessive form of “smoking” — the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading 'No; in England I had neither mates nor friends, and smoking's a convivial disease--a kid catches it from his companions.'
not in physical motion
From this reading Worse still, you don't smoke.'
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading 'You don't talk.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'How's that?'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
which person or people
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading Worse still, you don't smoke.'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'You don't talk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'You're a curious kind of devil, Jim,' said Mike, who had been watching Done closely during the last few minutes.
Chapter 4 of In the Roaring Fifties by Edward Dyson holds 398 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 398 sentences of In the Roaring Fifties, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of In the Roaring Fifties by Edward Dyson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 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 In the Roaring Fifties by Edward Dyson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5284 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17045 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17045, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1057 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Roaring Fifties section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of In the Roaring Fifties 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 In the Roaring Fifties, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
