Chapter 4 of Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl is here in full — 399 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 Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis. "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine." "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat." Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark. All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
Chapter 4 of Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
take in solid food
From this reading “"I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.”
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading “Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “"Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."”
made afraid
From this reading “All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.”
a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household
From this reading “All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.”
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading “"I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.”
like better; value more highly
From this reading “"Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."”
a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information
From this reading “Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.”
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 "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
any thing at all
From this reading "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
take in solid food
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."
made afraid
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
by chance
From this reading "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."
like better; value more highly
From this reading "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Some of the girls raised their eyebrows at this remark.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "I can't eat this: it's bad!" cried Mavis.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Anything, so long as it's fit to eat."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All of them were more or less frightened of Miss Striem, the housekeeper.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Perhaps you would prefer a thardine."
Chapter 4 of Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl by Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can) Newte holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl by Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can) Newte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 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 Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl by Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can) Newte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11065 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4345 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4345, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl 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 Sparrows: The Story of an Unprotected Girl, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
