Chapter 4 of Old valentines is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Old valentines is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator. Phyllis sighed. "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly. "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl." John poked the fire.
Chapter 4 of Old valentines is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 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.
The middle point or core of an area.
From this reading “An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.”
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading “An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.”
something acquired without compensation
From this reading “An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.”
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading “An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.”
a coffeepot in which boiling water ascends through a central tube and filters back down through a basket of ground coffee beans
From this reading “An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.”
past form of “poke” — poke or thrust abruptly
From this reading “John poked the fire.”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “Phyllis sighed.”
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading “An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.”
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 An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
The middle point or core of an area.
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
start firing a weapon
From this reading John poked the fire.
something acquired without compensation
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
a young female
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
a coffeepot in which boiling water ascends through a central tube and filters back down through a basket of ground coffee beans
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Phyllis sighed.
past form of “poke” — poke or thrust abruptly
From this reading John poked the fire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly.
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading Phyllis sighed.
with low volume
From this reading "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "She will have a beautiful wedding," she said softly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading An old prayer-rug, with a golden tree of life in its deep blue center, was the Honorable Margaret's wedding gift; Mark sent a coffee percolator.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Ah, John, you don't know what that means to a girl."
Chapter 4 of Old valentines by Munson Aldrich Havens holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Old valentines, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Old valentines by Munson Aldrich Havens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Old valentines by Munson Aldrich Havens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2422 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23886 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23886, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 201 minutes of reading across 485 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old valentines section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Old valentines 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 Old valentines, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
