Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1920, and is here in full — 515 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1920, and is here in full — 515 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lyda married Ned Backus. "Suppose you had died," she told Ned. "I would never have forgiven myself. You can work in papa's new grocery store. He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1920, and is here in full — 515 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/103 · 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.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “"Suppose you had died," she told Ned.”
inflected form of “forgive” — stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading “"I would never have forgiven myself.”
a marketplace where groceries are sold
From this reading “You can work in papa's new grocery store.”
joined in matrimony
From this reading “Lyda married Ned Backus.”
possessive form of “papa” — an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “You can work in papa's new grocery store.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “You can work in papa's new grocery store.”
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lyda married Ned Backus.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "Suppose you had died," she told Ned.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
inflected form of “forgive” — stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading "I would never have forgiven myself.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
the act of departing
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
a marketplace where groceries are sold
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Suppose you had died," she told Ned.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I would never have forgiven myself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I would never have forgiven myself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lyda married Ned Backus.
joined in matrimony
From this reading Lyda married Ned Backus.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "I would never have forgiven myself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lyda married Ned Backus.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I would never have forgiven myself.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
possessive form of “papa” — an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Suppose you had died," she told Ned.
in the near future
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
express a supposition
From this reading "Suppose you had died," she told Ned.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "Suppose you had died," she told Ned.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading He's going to start one as soon as we can get the building done.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading You can work in papa's new grocery store.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I would never have forgiven myself.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Suppose you had died," she told Ned.
Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1920, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 515 sentences, grouped into 103 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 515 sentences of The best short stories of 1920, and, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1920, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 515 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 best short stories of 1920, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 19297 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22091 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22091, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3860 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1920, and section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The best short stories of 1920, and 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 best short stories of 1920, and, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
