Chapter 4 of Tales Of Hearsay is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Tales Of Hearsay is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“The Northman never moved a muscle. He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard. He raised his head after a while. “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently. “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
Chapter 4 of Tales Of Hearsay is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading ““The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’”
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.”
one of the contractile organs of the body
From this reading ““The Northman never moved a muscle.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading ““‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.”
in a negligent manner
From this reading ““‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.”
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading ““The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’”
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading “He raised his head after a while.”
imagine to be the case or true or probable
From this reading ““‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.”
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 “The Northman never moved a muscle.
later than; following
From this reading He raised his head after a while.
any thing at all
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He raised his head after a while.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He raised his head after a while.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “The Northman never moved a muscle.
one of the contractile organs of the body
From this reading “The Northman never moved a muscle.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
in a negligent manner
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “The Northman never moved a muscle.
an inhabitant of Scandinavia
From this reading “The Northman never moved a muscle.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading He raised his head after a while.
express in words
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
imagine to be the case or true or probable
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The Northman never moved a muscle.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was gazing at the floor; he seemed not to have heard.
during the time that
From this reading He raised his head after a while.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “The commanding officer thought: ‘Why should he say this?’
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “‘But you can’t suspect me of anything,’ he muttered, negligently.
Chapter 4 of Tales Of Hearsay by Joseph Conrad holds 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 455 sentences of Tales Of Hearsay, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Tales Of Hearsay by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Tales Of Hearsay by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2250 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17732 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17732, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 187 minutes of reading across 450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales Of Hearsay section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Tales Of Hearsay 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 Tales Of Hearsay, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
