Chapter 4 of The Box-Car Children is here in full — 483 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Box-Car Children is here in full — 483 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment. "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?" "You never would," objected Benny with confidence. "No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess. "Watchie wouldn't take one, neither," said Benny.
Chapter 4 of The Box-Car Children is here in full — 483 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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.
plural of “apple” — fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading “"Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “"Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.”
East Indian annual erect herb; source of sesame seed or benniseed and sesame oil
From this reading “"Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.”
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading “"You never would," objected Benny with confidence.”
past form of “object” — express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent
From this reading “"You never would," objected Benny with confidence.”
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading “"No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.”
-ing form of “suppose” — express a supposition
From this reading “"Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"”
look attentively
From this reading “"No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.”
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 “"Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.”
remove from a certain place, environment, or mental or emotional state; transport into a new location or state
In this reading “"Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"”
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 "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
plural of “apple” — fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading "Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
East Indian annual erect herb; source of sesame seed or benniseed and sesame oil
From this reading "Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading "You never would," objected Benny with confidence.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
not one and not the other of two
From this reading "Watchie wouldn't take one, neither," said Benny.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "You never would," objected Benny with confidence.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.
past form of “object” — express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent
From this reading "You never would," objected Benny with confidence.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Watchie wouldn't take one, neither," said Benny.
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading "No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.
-ing form of “suppose” — express a supposition
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
carry out
From this reading "Watchie wouldn't take one, neither," said Benny.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
look attentively
From this reading "No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Watchie wouldn't take one, neither," said Benny.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "You never would," objected Benny with confidence.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "You never would," objected Benny with confidence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Supposing you had two apples and I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
Chapter 4 of The Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner holds 483 sentences, grouped into 97 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 483 sentences of The Box-Car Children, unabridged, divided into 97 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 483 sentences, grouped into 97 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 97 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 97 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 Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1923 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42796 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42796, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 160 minutes of reading across 385 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Box-Car Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Box-Car Children 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 Box-Car Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
