Chapter 4 of Just Sixteen. is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Just Sixteen. is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was a pause as he ceased. Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once. Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob. Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen. "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
Chapter 4 of Just Sixteen. is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “There was a pause as he ceased.”
demanding attention
From this reading “"Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.”
every person
From this reading “Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.”
small flat mass of chopped food
From this reading “Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “There was a pause as he ceased.”
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading “Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.”
weep convulsively
From this reading “Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.”
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading “Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.”
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 There was a pause as he ceased.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There was a pause as he ceased.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading There was a pause as he ceased.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
demanding attention
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
every person
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
the light of a fire (especially in a fireplace)
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was a pause as he ceased.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
on one occasion
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
small flat mass of chopped food
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a pause as he ceased.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
a tetravalent nonmetallic element; next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand; used as a semiconductor in transistors
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
weep convulsively
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Suddenly into the silence there fell the sound of a sob.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a pause as he ceased.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a pause as he ceased.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Aunt Patty and Myra were too sorry for the captain to feel like speaking at once.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
in or at the place that
From this reading Everybody started, and Uncle Si caught Davy's arm and pulled him into the firelight where his face could be seen.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why, what are you crying for, little 'un?" asked Uncle Si.
Chapter 4 of Just Sixteen. by Susan Coolidge holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 428 sentences of Just Sixteen., unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Just Sixteen. by Susan Coolidge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Just Sixteen. by Susan Coolidge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3434 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41641 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41641, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 286 minutes of reading across 687 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Just Sixteen. section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Just Sixteen. 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 Just Sixteen., each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
