Chapter IV of On the Brink of a Chasm, “A _Post Obit_,” is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter IV of On the Brink of a Chasm, “A _Post Obit_,” is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour. The nurse came in and turned off the electric light. She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe. “How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper. “He is very ill,” said the woman.
Chapter IV of On the Brink of a Chasm, “A _Post Obit_,” is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
space by the side of a bed (especially the bed of a sick or dying person)
From this reading “She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.”
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading “The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.”
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.”
a bit with a bar mouthpiece that is designed to combine a curb and snaffle
From this reading “Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.”
protected from heat and light with shade or shadow
From this reading “She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.”
walk on one's toes
From this reading “She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.”
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading ““How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.”
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.
In this reading “She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.”
In this reading ““How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.”
In this reading “Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.”
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 She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.
space by the side of a bed (especially the bed of a sick or dying person)
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
a youthful male person
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He is very ill,” said the woman.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “He is very ill,” said the woman.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
provided with artificial light
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
a bit with a bar mouthpiece that is designed to combine a curb and snaffle
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “He is very ill,” said the woman.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
protected from heat and light with shade or shadow
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
walk on one's toes
From this reading She lit a lamp in a distant part of the room, and shaded it; then she approached the bedside on tiptoe.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The nurse came in and turned off the electric light.
precisely as stated
From this reading “He is very ill,” said the woman.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “How is the boy now?” asked Pelham in a whisper.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Pelham sat with the boy for about an hour.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “He is very ill,” said the woman.
Chapter 4 of On the Brink of a Chasm by L. T. Meade holds 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 247 sentences of On the Brink of a Chasm, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of On the Brink of a Chasm by L. T. Meade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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.
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Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through On the Brink of a Chasm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 On the Brink of a Chasm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
