Chapter 4 of The Claw is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Claw is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested. "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta. Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?" Mrs Valetta turned and bit at her: "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
Chapter 4 of The Claw is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading “Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"”
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “Mrs Valetta turned and bit at her:”
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
apprehended with certainty
From this reading “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “"But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “"But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.”
plural of “song” — a short musical composition with words
From this reading “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
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 “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
In this reading “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
In this reading “"Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."”
recover something or somebody that appeared to be lost
In this reading “"But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.”
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 "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
a former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mrs Valetta turned and bit at her:
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Mrs Valetta turned and bit at her:
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
set up or found
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs Valetta turned and bit at her:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
apprehended with certainty
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
a particular point in time
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
from a time in the past until now
From this reading "But I haven't had a minute since I got back," he protested.
plural of “song” — a short musical composition with words
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Mrs Valetta turned and bit at her:
the capital of Malta; located on the northeastern coast of the island
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
a late time of life
From this reading "Kim and I have known each other for many years,-- "Old friends are best-- Old loves, old books, old songs."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Why couldn't you have found a moment to come and see Anna and me?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You've had time to call on Mrs Valetta.
Chapter 4 of The Claw by Cynthia Stockley holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 414 sentences of The Claw, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Claw by Cynthia Stockley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Claw by Cynthia Stockley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5799 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37257 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37257, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 483 minutes of reading across 1160 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Claw section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Claw 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 Claw, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
