Chapter 4 of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 is here in full — 447 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 is here in full — 447 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice. "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing. Why don't _you_ do a _magnum opus_, then?" "Why don't _I_? Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
Chapter 4 of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 is here in full — 447 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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 very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading “"A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.”
the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed
From this reading “"A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.”
of or relating to or characteristic of literature
From this reading “Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.”
a large wine bottle for liquor or wine
a musical work that has been created
professing to be qualified
From this reading “Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.”
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading “"A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.”
a specific feeling of desire
From this reading “"You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.”
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 “"A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.”
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 "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
dearly loved
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Why don't _you_ do a _magnum opus_, then?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why don't _you_ do a _magnum opus_, then?"
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
a boy or man
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Why don't _I_?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
of or relating to or characteristic of literature
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
a large wine bottle for liquor or wine
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
a musical work that has been created
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
professing to be qualified
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Why don't _you_ do a _magnum opus_, then?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Oh, I'm not a literary fellow--never professed to be.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why don't _you_ do a _magnum opus_, then?"
a specific feeling of desire
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "A _magnum opus_, my dear fellow!" replied Clay, with a shade of irritation in his voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You talk as if a _magnum opus_ could be done for the wishing.
Chapter 4 of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 by Various holds 447 sentences, grouped into 90 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 447 sentences of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 447 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3106 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31146 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31146, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 258 minutes of reading across 622 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Stories by American Authors, Volume 8 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 Stories by American Authors, Volume 8, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
