Chapter 4 of Murder in Black Letter 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 Murder in Black Letter is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I'm sorry," muttered his father. "It's not so easy for him, you know. He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see. God, six months ago! Now what's he got to do all day?"
Chapter 4 of Murder in Black Letter 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.
in the past
From this reading “God, six months ago!”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “"It's not so easy for him, you know.”
a boy or man
From this reading “He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.”
full of life and energy
From this reading “He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.”
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “God, six months ago!”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “"I'm sorry," muttered his father.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading “God, six months ago!”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “"I'm sorry," muttered his father.”
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 “God, six months ago!”
In this reading “He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.”
In this reading “Now what's he got to do all day?"”
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 He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
in the past
From this reading God, six months ago!
(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 Now what's he got to do all day?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Now what's he got to do all day?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Now what's he got to do all day?"
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "I'm sorry," muttered his father.
a boy or man
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading God, six months ago!
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Now what's he got to do all day?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "I'm sorry," muttered his father.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm sorry," muttered his father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
full of life and energy
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading God, six months ago!
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "I'm sorry," muttered his father.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now what's he got to do all day?"
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading God, six months ago!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading "I'm sorry," muttered his father.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now what's he got to do all day?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It's not so easy for him, you know.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading He was as strong and lively a young fellow as you could hope to see.
Chapter 4 of Murder in Black Letter by Poul Anderson 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 Murder in Black Letter, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Murder in Black Letter by Poul Anderson 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 Murder in Black Letter by Poul Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5289 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59369 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59369, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1058 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Murder in Black Letter section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Murder in Black Letter 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 Murder in Black Letter, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
