Chapter 4 of Modern Americans is here in full — 413 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 Modern Americans is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was a hot August day in 1914. On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city. Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city. Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods. Why all the excitement?
Chapter 4 of Modern Americans is here in full — 413 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 “automobile” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.”
plural of “farmer” — a person who operates a farm
From this reading “Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.”
plural of “good” — benefit
From this reading “Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.”
moving with great haste
From this reading “On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.”
a state in midwestern United States
From this reading “On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.”
plural of “merchant” — a businessperson engaged in retail trade
From this reading “Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.”
plural of “store” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.”
the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
From this reading “On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Why all the excitement?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
plural of “automobile” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
a movement into or inward
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Why all the excitement?
plural of “farmer” — a person who operates a farm
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
plural of “good” — benefit
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
past form of “hasten” — act or move at high speed
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
moving with great haste
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
a state in midwestern United States
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
plural of “merchant” — a businessperson engaged in retail trade
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
plural of “store” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell goods.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a hot August day in 1914.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading On every road entering a beautiful Indiana city, strings of automobiles were seen hurrying to the city.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why all the excitement?
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Farmers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the city.
Chapter 4 of Modern Americans by Chester Milton Sanford holds 413 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 413 sentences of Modern Americans, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Modern Americans by Chester Milton Sanford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 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 Modern Americans by Chester Milton Sanford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2471 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30287 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30287, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 205 minutes of reading across 495 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Modern Americans section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Modern Americans 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 Modern Americans, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
