Chapter 4 of Stories of the Foot-hills is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Stories of the Foot-hills is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"No, I guess not." The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head. Alex made a half-conciliatory pause. He preferred to know that she was not crying. "How you been feelin' to-day?"
Chapter 4 of Stories of the Foot-hills is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 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.
demanding attention
From this reading “He preferred to know that she was not crying.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “"No, I guess not."”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.”
not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
From this reading “The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “Alex made a half-conciliatory pause.”
more desirable than another
From this reading “He preferred to know that she was not crying.”
cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
From this reading “The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.”
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.
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 Alex made a half-conciliatory pause.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alex made a half-conciliatory pause.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "How you been feelin' to-day?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
demanding attention
From this reading He preferred to know that she was not crying.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How you been feelin' to-day?"
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading "No, I guess not."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alex made a half-conciliatory pause.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He preferred to know that she was not crying.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How you been feelin' to-day?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, I guess not."
not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He preferred to know that she was not crying.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Alex made a half-conciliatory pause.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, I guess not."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "No, I guess not."
above and across; more than
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading Alex made a half-conciliatory pause.
more desirable than another
From this reading He preferred to know that she was not crying.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He preferred to know that she was not crying.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He preferred to know that she was not crying.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How you been feelin' to-day?"
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The voice was indistinct, but she might have had her skirt over her head.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How you been feelin' to-day?"
Chapter 4 of Stories of the Foot-hills by Margaret Collier Graham holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Stories of the Foot-hills, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Stories of the Foot-hills by Margaret Collier Graham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 of the Foot-hills by Margaret Collier Graham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2791 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31687 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31687, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 232 minutes of reading across 559 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stories of the Foot-hills section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Stories of the Foot-hills 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 of the Foot-hills, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
