Chapter 4 of The Blind Brother is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Blind Brother is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE TRIAL. Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands. This was cruel. For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him. But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
Chapter 4 of The Blind Brother is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 form of amphetamine
From this reading “For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.”
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading “Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “This was cruel.”
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading “But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.”
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading “For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.”
absolutely essential
From this reading “But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.”
male cat
From this reading “Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.”
the act of testing something
From this reading “THE TRIAL.”
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 “For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
a form of amphetamine
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading This was cruel.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
and nothing more
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
absolutely essential
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
and nothing more
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
express in words
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE TRIAL.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was cruel.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For the first time in his life, he was glad Bennie could not see him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
male cat
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
the act of testing something
From this reading THE TRIAL.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was cruel.
(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 But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Tom turned his head away, and covered his face with his hands.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading But he felt that it was necessary for him to say something, so he stammered out,-- “Well, I was only just s’posin’, you know.
Chapter 4 of The Blind Brother by Homer Greene holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 148 sentences of The Blind Brother, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Blind Brother by Homer Greene exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Blind Brother by Homer Greene on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1367 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45232 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45232, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 113 minutes of reading across 274 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Blind Brother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Blind Brother 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 Blind Brother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
