Chapter 4 of Noughts and Crosses is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Noughts and Crosses is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hey? Where is that?" The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it. "At Bleakirk." His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
Chapter 4 of Noughts and Crosses is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.”
at or in the front
From this reading “His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.”
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading “The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.”
feel bitter or indignant about
From this reading “The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.”
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading “His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.”
an impression that something might be the case
From this reading “His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.”
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.”
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 His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
quickly and without warning
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
at or in the front
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "At Bleakirk."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "At Bleakirk."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hey?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Where is that?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
a particular point in time
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
on the contrary
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
feel bitter or indignant about
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
an impression that something might be the case
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Where is that?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
in or at the place that
From this reading Where is that?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading His eyes had wandered for a moment to the road ahead; but now he turned abruptly, and looked at me, as I thought, with some suspicion.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The familiarity lay rather in the words than the manner; and I did not resent it.
Chapter 4 of Noughts and Crosses by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Noughts and Crosses, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Noughts and Crosses by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Noughts and Crosses by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2394 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15865 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15865, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 199 minutes of reading across 479 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Noughts and Crosses section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Noughts and Crosses 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 Noughts and Crosses, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
