Chapter 4 of Our American Cousin is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Our American Cousin is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Asa Debby and Nab? Yes! Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields. Asa Yes. Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
Chapter 4 of Our American Cousin is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.”
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading “Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.”
domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
From this reading “Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.”
a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target
From this reading “Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.”
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading “Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.”
-ing form of “milk” — take milk from female mammals
From this reading “Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.”
tag the base runner to get him out
From this reading “Asa Debby and Nab?”
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Asa Debby and Nab?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Asa Debby and Nab?
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
From this reading Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Asa Debby and Nab?
every person
From this reading Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
the force of workers available
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
-ing form of “milk” — take milk from female mammals
From this reading Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
tag the base runner to get him out
From this reading Asa Debby and Nab?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Mary The girls milking the cows, and everybody so busy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading Mary Then I can see the smoke curling from the chimney, then men and boys working in the fields.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes!
Chapter 4 of Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor holds 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 280 sentences of Our American Cousin, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1101 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3158 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3158, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 91 minutes of reading across 221 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Our American Cousin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Our American Cousin 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 Our American Cousin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
