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The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table

Chapter IV · Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table is here in full — 335 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
Context Illustration Reading 1/67 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
[I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.
Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.
The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.
You must take them as they come.
How can I do what all these letters ask me to?
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table

Chapter IV · Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table is here in full — 335 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/67 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
[I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.
Line 2
Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.
Line 3
The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.
Line 4
You must take them as they come.
Line 5
How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

All words in this reading · 58

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

am

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

are

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

as

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You must take them as they come.

ask

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

be

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

boarding-house

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

breakfasts

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

can

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

come

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You must take them as they come.

conversations

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

course

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

different

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

dipped

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

do

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

dry

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

great

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

have

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

How

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

intend

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

letters

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

like

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

many

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

me

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

must

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You must take them as they come.

my

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

necessarily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

Of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

perhaps

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

pleased

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

remain

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

report

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

shall

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

so

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

sometimes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

subjects

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

take

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You must take them as they come.

talks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

that

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

them

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You must take them as they come.

there

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

these

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

they

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

toast

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The talks are like the breakfasts,—sometimes dipped toast, and sometimes dry.

tone

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

well

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

what

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How can I do what all these letters ask me to?

will

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course I shall have a great many conversations to report, and they will necessarily be of different tone and on different subjects.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

years

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [I am so well pleased with my boarding-house that I intend to remain there, perhaps for years.

You

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You must take them as they come.

Chapter 4 of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes holds 335 sentences, grouped into 67 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 4 of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table contain?

Chapter 4 holds 335 sentences of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 4 of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 335 sentences, grouped into 67 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.

How do I study chapter 4 of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table?

Work through the 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 67 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.

Can chapter 4 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table

Common questions about reading The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table?

Yes. All 3599 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #751 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #751, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table take to read?

About 299 minutes of reading across 720 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table section by section

How to work through The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Going
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Interrupted
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Classifying
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Minds
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.