Chapter 4 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron. The sink was full of unwashed dishes. He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw. She turned upon him like a flash. "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
Chapter 4 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading “She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.”
a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information
From this reading “He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.”
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading “The sink was full of unwashed dishes.”
fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “The sink was full of unwashed dishes.”
of or associated with the great masses of people
From this reading “The sink was full of unwashed dishes.”
showing or resulting from lack of judgment or wisdom
From this reading “He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.”
clean with some chemical process
From this reading “"If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.”
in a weary manner
From this reading “She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.”
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.
In this reading “She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading “She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.”
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 She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading The sink was full of unwashed dishes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading She turned upon him like a flash.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading The sink was full of unwashed dishes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She turned upon him like a flash.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She turned upon him like a flash.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The sink was full of unwashed dishes.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading The sink was full of unwashed dishes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned upon him like a flash.
of or associated with the great masses of people
From this reading The sink was full of unwashed dishes.
showing or resulting from lack of judgment or wisdom
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading She turned upon him like a flash.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The sink was full of unwashed dishes.
clean with some chemical process
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
in a weary manner
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She went out into the kitchen and wearily put on a torn apron.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He saw them and was unwise enough to comment on what he saw.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading "If you don't like to see them, wash them yourself," she said.
Chapter 4 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Short stories from Life, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson 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 Short stories from Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Short stories from Life 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 Short stories from Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
