Chapter 4 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife. "May I come in here?" "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him. "What would you please to want, Sir?" The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
Chapter 4 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
inflected form of “admit” — declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading “"Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.”
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading “The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.”
possessive form of “britain” — a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; “Great Britain” is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
From this reading “"Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.”
good weather with comfortable temperatures
From this reading “"Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.”
in a serious manner
From this reading “"Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.”
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading “The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.”
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading “"Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “"Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.”
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.
to come or go into
In this reading “"May I come in here?"”
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.
inflected form of “admit” — declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
possessive form of “britain” — a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; “Great Britain” is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
good weather with comfortable temperatures
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "May I come in here?"
in a serious manner
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
the organ of sight
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "May I come in here?"
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "May I come in here?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "May I come in here?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "May I come in here?"
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "What would you please to want, Sir?"
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "Oh, surely, if you like, Sir," returned Clemency, admitting him.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What would you please to want, Sir?"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "What would you please to want, Sir?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The bill had caught his eye, and he was reading it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What would you please to want, Sir?"
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "What would you please to want, Sir?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Thank you," said the stranger, looking earnestly at Mr. Britain's wife.
Chapter 4 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens holds 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 443 sentences of The Battle of Life: A Love Story, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1748 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40723 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40723, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 145 minutes of reading across 350 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Battle of Life: A Love Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Battle of Life: A Love Story 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 Battle of Life: A Love Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
