Chapter 4 of My Friend Smith is here in full — 415 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 My Friend Smith is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They went. There was nothing stately about their march. They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress. It seemed a year before they returned! At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
Chapter 4 of My Friend Smith is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
cheerful and bright
From this reading “At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.”
past form of “dart” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading “They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.”
possessive form of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading “They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.”
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading “They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.”
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading “At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.”
determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey
From this reading “They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.”
impressive in appearance
From this reading “There was nothing stately about their march.”
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 They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
cheerful and bright
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It seemed a year before they returned!
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
past form of “dart” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
possessive form of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed a year before they returned!
immediately past
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
march in a procession
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading It seemed a year before they returned!
cut with a saw
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed a year before they returned!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
impressive in appearance
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They went.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was nothing stately about their march.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They went.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading They darted up the stairs two steps at a time, and the last we saw of them was as they turned the corner into the passage, at the end of which was situate the enemy's fortress.
in the company of; together with
From this reading At last Shankley, with beaming face, burst into our midst.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading It seemed a year before they returned!
Chapter 4 of My Friend Smith by Talbot Baines Reed holds 415 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 415 sentences of My Friend Smith, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of My Friend Smith by Talbot Baines Reed exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 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 My Friend Smith by Talbot Baines Reed on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8701 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21036 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21036, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1741 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Friend Smith section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of My Friend Smith 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 Friend Smith, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
