Chapter 4 of Messer Marco Polo is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Messer Marco Polo is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely. "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says. "I perceive you're from China." The sea-captain waves him politely to his place. "I'm from China."
Chapter 4 of Messer Marco Polo is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
From this reading “"I perceive you're from China."”
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading “So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.”
to become aware of through the senses
From this reading “"I perceive you're from China."”
in a polite manner
From this reading “So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.”
Venetian traveler who explored Asia in the 13th century and served Kublai Khan (1254-1324)
From this reading “So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.”
plural of “salute” — an act of honor or courteous recognition
From this reading “So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.”
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading “"I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.”
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading “The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.”
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 "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
From this reading "I perceive you're from China."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "I perceive you're from China."
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm from China."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
above and across; more than
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
to become aware of through the senses
From this reading "I perceive you're from China."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.
in a polite manner
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
Venetian traveler who explored Asia in the 13th century and served Kublai Khan (1254-1324)
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
plural of “salute” — an act of honor or courteous recognition
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So Marco Polo goes over and salutes him politely.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading The sea-captain waves him politely to his place.
during the time that
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while," he says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I perceive you're from China."
Chapter 4 of Messer Marco Polo by Donn Byrne holds 149 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 149 sentences of Messer Marco Polo, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Messer Marco Polo by Donn Byrne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Messer Marco Polo by Donn Byrne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1263 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2058 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2058, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 105 minutes of reading across 253 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Messer Marco Polo section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Messer Marco Polo 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 Messer Marco Polo, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
