Chapter 4 of Mermaid is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Mermaid is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines. “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words. “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!” “Did almost. Killing too easy.
Chapter 4 of Mermaid is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
From this reading ““You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.”
English privateer involved in the slave trade; later helped build the fleet that in 1588 defeated the Spanish Armada (1532-1595)
From this reading ““Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!””
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading ““Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!””
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading “Killing too easy.”
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.”
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading ““You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.”
superlative of “severe” — intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading “Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.”
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 “Killing too easy.”
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 “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading “Did almost.
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Did almost.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading Killing too easy.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
English privateer involved in the slave trade; later helped build the fleet that in 1588 defeated the Spanish Armada (1532-1595)
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading Killing too easy.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
superlative of “severe” — intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Keturah Smiley’s face settled into its severest lines.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Killing too easy.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
the words that are spoken
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “Captain Hawkins would never have flogged a man for that: he’d have killed him!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’re likely mistaken,” she said with a bite in her words.
Chapter 4 of Mermaid by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Mermaid, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Mermaid by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Mermaid by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4788 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57531 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57531, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 958 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mermaid section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Mermaid 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 Mermaid, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
