Chapter 4 of Sara Crewe is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Sara Crewe is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Can you imagine it--can you believe it? I find it hard to believe it myself. And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep. “Oh!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “Oh! it isn't true!
Chapter 4 of Sara Crewe is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
in a state of sleep
From this reading “And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.”
in a breathless manner
From this reading ““Oh!” she exclaimed breathlessly.”
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading “And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.”
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading “And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.”
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “Can you imagine it--can you believe it?”
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading “And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.”
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading “And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.”
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 And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
in a state of sleep
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading Can you imagine it--can you believe it?
in a breathless manner
From this reading “Oh!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can you imagine it--can you believe it?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “Oh!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
opinion or judgment
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading I find it hard to believe it myself.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
set up or found
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading I find it hard to believe it myself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I find it hard to believe it myself.
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading Can you imagine it--can you believe it?
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh! it isn't true!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Can you imagine it--can you believe it?
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I find it hard to believe it myself.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading And Sara found it impossible; for the first few moments she thought something strange had happened to her eyes--to her mind--that the dream had come before she had had time to fall asleep.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I find it hard to believe it myself.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “Oh! it isn't true!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Can you imagine it--can you believe it?
Chapter 4 of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 192 sentences of Sara Crewe, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 950 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #137 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #137, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 79 minutes of reading across 190 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sara Crewe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Sara Crewe 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 Sara Crewe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
