Chapter 4 of Nature readers is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Nature readers is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive? What do bees eat? What do they make? Tell me of odd places where bees live. What things eat the bees and steal their combs?
Chapter 4 of Nature readers is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?”
plural of “comb” — a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
From this reading “What things eat the bees and steal their combs?”
take in solid food
From this reading “What do bees eat?”
a teeming multitude
From this reading “Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?”
not divisible by two
From this reading “Tell me of odd places where bees live.”
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “Tell me of odd places where bees live.”
take without the owner's consent
From this reading “What things eat the bees and steal their combs?”
a moving crowd
From this reading “Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What things eat the bees and steal their combs?
plural of “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
plural of “comb” — a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
From this reading What things eat the bees and steal their combs?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What do bees eat?
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
take in solid food
From this reading What do bees eat?
a teeming multitude
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
go away from a place
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading Tell me of odd places where bees live.
engage in
From this reading What do they make?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me of odd places where bees live.
not divisible by two
From this reading Tell me of odd places where bees live.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Tell me of odd places where bees live.
take without the owner's consent
From this reading What things eat the bees and steal their combs?
a moving crowd
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
express in words
From this reading Tell me of odd places where bees live.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading What things eat the bees and steal their combs?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What do they make?
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading What things eat the bees and steal their combs?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What do bees eat?
in or at the place that
From this reading Tell me of odd places where bees live.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why does a swarm of bees leave the hive?
Chapter 4 of Nature readers by Julia McNair Wright holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 430 sentences of Nature readers, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Nature readers by Julia McNair Wright exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Nature readers by Julia McNair Wright on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1714 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71462 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71462, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 142 minutes of reading across 343 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nature readers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Nature readers 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 Nature readers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
