Chapter 4 of Over the border is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Over the border is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light. "Pretty tough-looking customer. Don't belong to this town. Smell the kerosene?" "I smell it all right.
Chapter 4 of Over the border is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “Don't belong to this town.”
someone who pays for goods or services
From this reading “"Pretty tough-looking customer.”
becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over
From this reading “"Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.”
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading “"Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.”
a flammable hydrocarbon oil used as fuel in lamps and heaters
From this reading “Smell the kerosene?"”
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading “Smell the kerosene?"”
superlative of “sure” — having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “"Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.”
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading “"Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “"Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.”
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 "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "I smell it all right.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading Don't belong to this town.
someone who pays for goods or services
From this reading "Pretty tough-looking customer.
becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't belong to this town.
at any time
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I smell it all right.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
a flammable hydrocarbon oil used as fuel in lamps and heaters
From this reading Smell the kerosene?"
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "Pretty tough-looking customer.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "I smell it all right.
cut with a saw
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading Smell the kerosene?"
superlative of “sure” — having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Don't belong to this town.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Don't belong to this town.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Pretty tough-looking customer.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Don't belong to this town.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading "Surest job I ever saw," answered the man, turning for a look at me in the darkening light.
Chapter 4 of Over the border by Morgan Robertson holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 406 sentences of Over the border, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Over the border by Morgan Robertson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Over the border by Morgan Robertson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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 Over the border section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Over the border 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 Over the border, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
