Chapter 4 of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The door slammed and she was gone. Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them. It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment. “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible. “Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.
Chapter 4 of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading ““Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.”
(sentence connectors) because of the reason given
From this reading “It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.”
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading ““He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.”
a unit of instruction
From this reading ““Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.”
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading ““He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.”
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading ““He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.”
inflected form of “slam” — close violently
From this reading “The door slammed and she was gone.”
painstakingly careful and accurate
From this reading “It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.”
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 Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
any thing at all
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
(sentence connectors) because of the reason given
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
one or the other of two
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
divisible by two
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
a unit of instruction
From this reading “Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
a particular point in time
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
recurring again and again
From this reading “Didn’t mean anything,” repeated Billy, like a lesson.
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “He didn’t mean anything,” said Bertie, growing partially responsible.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
inflected form of “slam” — close violently
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
painstakingly careful and accurate
From this reading It was thorough, and silence consequently held them for a moment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The door slammed and she was gone.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Not a word to either of the boys, not even any notice of them.
Chapter 4 of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University by Owen Wister holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 208 sentences of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University by Owen Wister exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University by Owen Wister on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 828 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #862 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #862, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 69 minutes of reading across 166 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University 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 Philosophy 4: A Story of Harvard University, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
