Chapter 4 of Men, Women, and Boats is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Men, Women, and Boats is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea. Electric lights began to blink like eyes. Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together. They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft. "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
Chapter 4 of Men, Women, and Boats is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading “The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.”
briefly shut the eyes
From this reading “Electric lights began to blink like eyes.”
relating to or covered with or resembling freckles
From this reading “"I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.”
crowded or massed together
From this reading “They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.”
past form of “menace” — pose a threat to; present a danger to
From this reading “Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.”
(physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound
From this reading “"I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.”
a trait of dignified seriousness
From this reading “The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.”
plural of “voyager” — a traveler to a distant land (especially one who travels by sea)
From this reading “Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.”
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 Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
stick to firmly
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
briefly shut the eyes
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
plural of “fire” — the event of something burning (often destructive)
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
in a brotherly manner
From this reading They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.
relating to or covered with or resembling freckles
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
crowded or massed together
From this reading They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
past form of “menace” — pose a threat to; present a danger to
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.
(physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.
above and across; more than
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
a flat float (usually made of logs or planks) that can be used for transport or as a platform for swimmers
From this reading They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
a trait of dignified seriousness
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
in a softened tone
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They huddled fraternally in the middle of the raft.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Electric lights began to blink like eyes.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading "I feel like a molecule," said the freckled man in subdued tones.
plural of “voyager” — a traveler to a distant land (especially one who travels by sea)
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading The fires in the west blazed away, and solemnity spread over the sea.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Night menaced the voyagers with a dangerous darkness, and fear came to bind their souls together.
Chapter 4 of Men, Women, and Boats by Stephen Crane holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 103 sentences of Men, Women, and Boats, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Men, Women, and Boats by Stephen Crane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Men, Women, and Boats by Stephen Crane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
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 Men, Women, and Boats section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Men, Women, and Boats 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 Men, Women, and Boats, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
