Chapter 4 of The "B. O. W. C." is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The "B. O. W. C." is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.” “Do you think the fog will continue?” Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace. “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.” “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
Chapter 4 of The "B. O. W. C." is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading ““Do you think the fog will continue?””
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.”
beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
From this reading “Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading ““Do you think the fog will continue?””
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading “Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading ““You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading ““That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.””
past form of “screw” — have sexual intercourse with
From this reading “Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.”
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 ““That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.””
In this reading “Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.”
In this reading “Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.”
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 Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
any thing at all
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
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 “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
used to form the superlative
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
past form of “screw” — have sexual intercourse with
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “You don’t know, then, anything about it,” said Mr. Long, impatiently.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That there’s an ondeniable fact, at any rate.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Captain Corbet screwed his head round in the direction of the wind, and drew up his face into a most extraordinary grimace.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Do you think the fog will continue?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I rayther think,” said he, slowly, “that you’ve got me there.”
Chapter 4 of The "B. O. W. C." by James De Mille holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 426 sentences of The "B. O. W. C.", unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The "B. O. W. C." by James De Mille exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 "B. O. W. C." by James De Mille on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5287 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56231 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56231, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1058 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The "B. O. W. C." section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The "B. O. W. C." 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 "B. O. W. C.", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
