Chapter 4 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Been sick? How long?" "Oh, a long time. But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though. Gran'pa thayth she'th poor ath a rake."
Chapter 4 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
in bed
From this reading “But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.”
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.”
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading “How long?"”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.”
move through with or as if with a rake
From this reading “Gran'pa thayth she'th poor ath a rake."”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “"Been sick?”
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading “But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.”
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.”
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 "Oh, a long time.
in bed
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gran'pa thayth she'th poor ath a rake."
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Been sick?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gran'pa thayth she'th poor ath a rake."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How long?"
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading How long?"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, a long time.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
move through with or as if with a rake
From this reading Gran'pa thayth she'th poor ath a rake."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading "Been sick?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gran'pa thayth she'th poor ath a rake."
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading But she ain't thick abed; she'th awful poor, though.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Oh, a long time.
Chapter 4 of Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland holds 221 sentences, grouped into 45 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 221 sentences of Main-Travelled Roads, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 221 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2809 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2809, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 555 minutes of reading across 1332 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Main-Travelled Roads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Main-Travelled Roads 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 Main-Travelled Roads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
