Chapter 4 of Lily's birthday is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Lily's birthday is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MAMMA'S DRIVE. IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door. A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park. Mamma hesitated. She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
Chapter 4 of Lily's birthday is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading “She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “Mamma hesitated.”
possessive form of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.”
a child's room for a baby
From this reading “She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.”
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
From this reading “A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.”
-ing form of “prance” — to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
From this reading “IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.”
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading “She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.”
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading “She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.”
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 “IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.”
In this reading “She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.”
In this reading “A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.”
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 IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading MAMMA'S DRIVE.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading Mamma hesitated.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
and nothing more
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.
possessive form of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MAMMA'S DRIVE.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
a child's room for a baby
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
From this reading A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.
-ing form of “prance” — to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
carry out
From this reading A lady had called to take her out for a drive in the park.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She was timid about riding; and then it was Lily's birthday, and there were so many little ones in the nursery.
in the company of; together with
From this reading IN the afternoon, just as mamma had finished her dinner, a beautiful carriage with two prancing horses drove up to the door.
Chapter 4 of Lily's birthday by Madeline Leslie holds 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 59 sentences of Lily's birthday, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Lily's birthday by Madeline Leslie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lily's birthday section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Lily's birthday 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 Lily's birthday, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
