Chapter 4 of Once a week is here in full — 40 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Once a week is here in full — 40 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AFFIANCED The ball was at its height. Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her. "Let us sit this out," she said. "Not here--in the garden." "Yes," said Lord Beltravers gravely.
Chapter 4 of Once a week is here in full — 40 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading “AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.”
inflected form of “beg” — call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading “Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.”
being one more than seven
From this reading “Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “"Yes," said Lord Beltravers gravely.”
the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top
From this reading “AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.”
music performed for dancing the polka
From this reading “Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.”
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading “Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.”
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading “Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.”
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 Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
inflected form of “beg” — call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
being one more than seven
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading "Not here--in the garden."
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading "Yes," said Lord Beltravers gravely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Not here--in the garden."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
and nothing more
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not here--in the garden."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
music performed for dancing the polka
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
be seated
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Let us sit this out," she said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading AFFIANCED The ball was at its height.
which person or people
From this reading Gwendolen, who had been in to supper eight times, placed her hand timidly on the arm of Lord Beltravers, who had just begged a polka of her.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes," said Lord Beltravers gravely.
Chapter 4 of Once a week by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne holds 40 sentences, grouped into 8 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 40 sentences of Once a week, unabridged, divided into 8 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Once a week by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 40 sentences, grouped into 8 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 8 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 8 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #24313, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 549 minutes of reading across 1318 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Once a week, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
