Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short is here in full — 509 sentences across 102 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 1922, and the yearbook of the American short is here in full — 509 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child. “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more. He wants to be a sleeping baby. Sleep! Sleep!
Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short is here in full — 509 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/101 · 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 very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading ““To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.”
past form of “coddle” — treat with excessive indulgence
From this reading ““To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.”
expressing sorrow
From this reading “Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.”
meet the requirements or expectations of
From this reading ““To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “Sleep!”
the state of being asleep
From this reading “He wants to be a sleeping baby.”
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading “Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “He wants to be a sleeping baby.”
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 “He wants to be a sleeping baby.”
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 Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
a young person of either sex
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
past form of “coddle” — treat with excessive indulgence
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wants to be a sleeping baby.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
expressing sorrow
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
meet the requirements or expectations of
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Sleep!
the state of being asleep
From this reading He wants to be a sleeping baby.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “To be a coddled baby doesn’t satisfy him any more.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading He wants to be a sleeping baby.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her voice was tired and plaintive, the voice of a tired child.
Chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 509 sentences, grouped into 102 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 509 sentences of The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short, unabridged, divided into 102 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 509 sentences, grouped into 102 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 102 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 102 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 1922, and the yearbook of the American short by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 20416 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76427 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76427, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 4084 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The best short stories of 1922, and the yearbook of the American short 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 1922, and the yearbook of the American short, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
