Chapter 4 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
No; it was glorious! Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes. White, glittering white snow! But summer, of course, was more beautiful. It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
Chapter 4 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 pair who associate with one another
From this reading “It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.”
amazingly impressive; suggestive of the flashing of lightning
From this reading “Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.”
to or in any or all places
From this reading “Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.”
plural of “fox” — alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading “Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.”
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading “White, glittering white snow!”
having or deserving or conferring glory
From this reading “No; it was glorious!”
plural of “hare” — swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
From this reading “Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.”
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading “It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.”
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 It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading But summer, of course, was more beautiful.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But summer, of course, was more beautiful.
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading But summer, of course, was more beautiful.
amazingly impressive; suggestive of the flashing of lightning
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
divisible by two
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
to or in any or all places
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
plural of “fox” — alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading White, glittering white snow!
having or deserving or conferring glory
From this reading No; it was glorious!
plural of “hare” — swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading No; it was glorious!
for more time
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading But summer, of course, was more beautiful.
not any; not one
From this reading No; it was glorious!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But summer, of course, was more beautiful.
by chance
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
large Arctic and subarctic grouse with feathered feet and usually white winter plumage
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading But summer, of course, was more beautiful.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No; it was glorious!
at the time that
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
a Caucasian
From this reading White, glittering white snow!
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading Dazzling snow everywhere; silent, wild woods, ptarmigan, hares, and foxes.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would be high summer when he returned; his intention was to stay a couple of months, perhaps even longer.
Chapter 4 of Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Shallow Soil, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7537 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7537, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1132 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shallow Soil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Shallow Soil 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 Shallow Soil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
