Chapter 4 of Mary Olivier: a Life is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Mary Olivier: a Life is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece. The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her. She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma! Mamma!" IV.
Chapter 4 of Mary Olivier: a Life is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 “beak” — beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
From this reading “The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.”
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.”
staying power
From this reading “The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.”
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading “She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!”
compacted by ironing
From this reading “She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!”
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading “She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!”
plural of “vas” — a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
plural of “beak” — beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading IV.
staying power
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
compacted by ironing
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
cut with a saw
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
having a supporting base
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading She threw herself on the bed and pressed her face into the pillow and cried "Mamma!
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
plural of “vas” — a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading She turned from the window and saw the vases that Mamma had given her standing on the chimney-piece.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The black birds with red beaks and red legs looked at her.
Chapter 4 of Mary Olivier: a Life by May Sinclair holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 412 sentences of Mary Olivier: a Life, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Mary Olivier: a Life by May Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Mary Olivier: a Life by May Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11459 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9366 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9366, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2292 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mary Olivier: a Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Mary Olivier: a Life 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 Mary Olivier: a Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
