Chapter 4 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying. “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.” Wallie was watching Elizabeth. “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness. “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
Chapter 4 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm
From this reading ““He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.”
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading ““He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.”
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading “Wallie was watching Elizabeth.”
conformity with rules or standards
From this reading ““Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.”
of grammatical gender
From this reading ““Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.”
the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea
From this reading ““He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading ““Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.””
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading “Wallie was watching Elizabeth.”
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 “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading Wallie was watching Elizabeth.
conformity with rules or standards
From this reading “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
of grammatical gender
From this reading “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “He's a good sort, and he's pretty much of a man.”
express a supposition
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wallie was watching Elizabeth.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “He's not a bit attractive,” Nina was saying.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading Wallie was watching Elizabeth.
(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 “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Quiet, and--well, I don't suppose he knows what he's got on.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Oh, I don't know,” he said, with masculine fairness.
Chapter 4 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 226 sentences of The Breaking Point, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1601 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1601, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1821 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Breaking Point section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Breaking Point 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 Breaking Point, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
