Chapter 4 of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey is here in full — 823 sentences across 165 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey is here in full — 823 sentences across 165 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard. THOMSON'S _Seasons_. It was a dark, dismal day. Thick black clouds hung across the sky. There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
Chapter 4 of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey is here in full — 823 sentences across 165 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/164 · 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.
open to or abounding in fresh air
From this reading “_JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.”
-ing form of “chirp” — make high-pitched sounds
From this reading “There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.”
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading “There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.”
government that is inefficient or dishonest
From this reading “_JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.”
plural of “season” — a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
plural of “sparrow” — any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading “There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.”
a violent commotion or disturbance
From this reading “_JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.”
possessive form of “thomson” — United States composer who collaborated with Gertrude Stein (1896-1989)
From this reading “THOMSON'S _Seasons_.”
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 “Thick black clouds hung across the sky.”
In this reading “_JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.”
In this reading “_JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.”
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 was a dark, dismal day.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Thick black clouds hung across the sky.
open to or abounding in fresh air
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
(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 There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
surrounded by; in the company of
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Thick black clouds hung across the sky.
-ing form of “chirp” — make high-pitched sounds
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading Thick black clouds hung across the sky.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was a dark, dismal day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading It was a dark, dismal day.
causing dejection
From this reading It was a dark, dismal day.
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
at any time
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Thick black clouds hung across the sky.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a dark, dismal day.
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
government that is inefficient or dishonest
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
plural of “season” — a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading THOMSON'S _Seasons_.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading Thick black clouds hung across the sky.
plural of “sparrow” — any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
a violent commotion or disturbance
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading Thick black clouds hung across the sky.
possessive form of “thomson” — United States composer who collaborated with Gertrude Stein (1896-1989)
From this reading THOMSON'S _Seasons_.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a dark, dismal day.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading _JANUARY_ Here, winter holds his unrejoicing court, And through his airy hall the loud misrule Of driving tempest is for ever heard.
Chapter 4 of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey by Catherine Henrietta Milnes, Lady Gaskell holds 823 sentences, grouped into 165 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 823 sentences of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey, unabridged, divided into 165 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey by Catherine Henrietta Milnes, Lady Gaskell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 823 sentences, grouped into 165 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 165 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 165 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 Spring in a Shropshire Abbey by Catherine Henrietta Milnes, Lady Gaskell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5267 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46676 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46676, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 438 minutes of reading across 1054 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Spring in a Shropshire Abbey section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Spring in a Shropshire Abbey 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 Spring in a Shropshire Abbey, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
