Chapter 4 of The Ancient City is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Ancient City is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.” “Poor child!” I said to myself--“poor child!” “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later. “Eugenio; he came last night.”
Chapter 4 of The Ancient City is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
causing a dull and steady pain
From this reading ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997)
From this reading ““Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.”
a daughter of your brother or sister
From this reading ““Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.”
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
work hard
From this reading ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
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 ““I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.””
In this reading ““Eugenio; he came last night.””
In this reading ““Poor child!””
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 “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
causing a dull and steady pain
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
(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 “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Eugenio; he came last night.”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “Poor child!”
English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997)
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
untroubled by dreams
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Eugenio; he came last night.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Eugenio; he came last night.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
immediately past
From this reading “Eugenio; he came last night.”
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
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 “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I said to myself--“poor child!”
a daughter of your brother or sister
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “Eugenio; he came last night.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Poor child!”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I said to myself--“poor child!”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
work hard
From this reading “I long to lay this painful head And aching heart beneath the soil, To slumber in that dreamless bed From all my toil.”
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
which person or people
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Who do you think is here, Niece Martha?” said Aunt Diana one morning a week later.
Chapter 4 of The Ancient City by Constance Fenimore Woolson holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 417 sentences of The Ancient City, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Ancient City by Constance Fenimore Woolson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 The Ancient City by Constance Fenimore Woolson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1656 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52770 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52770, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 138 minutes of reading across 332 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ancient City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Ancient City 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 The Ancient City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
