Chapter 4 of My Boyhood is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of My Boyhood is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday. You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard. The instruction is quite as good. It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse. Or you might go to Columbia this fall.
Chapter 4 of My Boyhood is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
having the shape or form of a circle
From this reading “MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.”
plural of “college” — the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading “You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.”
a North American river; rises in southwestern Canada and flows southward across Washington to form the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific; known for its salmon runs in the spring
From this reading “Or you might go to Columbia this fall.”
enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading “MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.”
a university in Massachusetts
From this reading “You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.”
a message describing how something is to be done
From this reading “The instruction is quite as good.”
Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine; he restored paganism as the official religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed Christian temples but his decision was reversed after his death (331?-363)
From this reading “MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.”
change to the contrary
From this reading “It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.”
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 MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
having the shape or form of a circle
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
plural of “college” — the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
a North American river; rises in southwestern Canada and flows southward across Washington to form the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific; known for its salmon runs in the spring
From this reading Or you might go to Columbia this fall.
dearly loved
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
without doubt; certainly
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading Or you might go to Columbia this fall.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Or you might go to Columbia this fall.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The instruction is quite as good.
a university in Massachusetts
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
a message describing how something is to be done
From this reading The instruction is quite as good.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The instruction is quite as good.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.
Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine; he restored paganism as the official religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed Christian temples but his decision was reversed after his death (331?-363)
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Or you might go to Columbia this fall.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The instruction is quite as good.
change to the contrary
From this reading It is not the college that makes the man, but the reverse.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Or you might go to Columbia this fall.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading You would doubtless do as well or better at one of the small colleges as you would at Harvard.
the day immediately before today
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MY DEAR JULIAN, I enclose a circular from Amherst College that came to you yesterday.
Chapter 4 of My Boyhood by John Burroughs holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 441 sentences of My Boyhood, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of My Boyhood by John Burroughs exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 My Boyhood by John Burroughs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2250 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7280 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7280, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 187 minutes of reading across 450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Boyhood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of My Boyhood 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 My Boyhood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
