Chapter 1 of Plays : Fourth Series is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Plays : Fourth Series is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
STRANGWAY. One does not easily know love, it seems. [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.] BEATRICE. It was cruel to come, I know.
Chapter 1 of Plays : Fourth Series is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading “BEATRICE.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “It was cruel to come, I know.”
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading “One does not easily know love, it seems.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “[But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]”
of an obscure nature
From this reading “[But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]”
-ing form of “pity” — share the suffering of
From this reading “[But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “One does not easily know love, it seems.”
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading “[But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from 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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading BEATRICE.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was cruel to come, I know.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading It was cruel to come, I know.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It was cruel to come, I know.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
of an obscure nature
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
-ing form of “pity” — share the suffering of
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading One does not easily know love, it seems.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading STRANGWAY.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was cruel to come, I know.
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading [But her smile, faint, mysterious, pitying, is enough, and he turns away from her.]
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was cruel to come, I know.
Chapter 1 of Plays : Fourth Series by John Galsworthy holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 1 holds 410 sentences of Plays : Fourth Series, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Plays : Fourth Series by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 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 1 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 Plays : Fourth Series by John Galsworthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7858 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5058 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5058, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1572 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Plays : Fourth Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Plays : Fourth Series 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 Plays : Fourth Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
