Chapter 4 of The Crisis — Volume 01 is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Crisis — Volume 01 is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid? Eight hundred?" Stephen caught his breath. There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding. "Come, gentlemen, come!
Chapter 4 of The Crisis — Volume 01 is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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 “attraction” — the force by which one object attracts another
From this reading “THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?”
an agent who conducts an auction
From this reading “THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.”
an instance of oratory
From this reading “THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?”
plural of “pass” — (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls
From this reading “THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?”
a momentary flash of light
From this reading “THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?”
English writer (1832-1904)
From this reading “Stephen caught his breath.”
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading “THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?”
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 There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
plural of “attraction” — the force by which one object attracts another
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
an agent who conducts an auction
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
propose a payment
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Stephen caught his breath.
past form of “care” — feel concern or interest
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Stephen caught his breath.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come, gentlemen, come!
being one more than seven
From this reading Eight hundred?"
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
ten 10s
From this reading Eight hundred?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
not any; not one
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
an instance of oratory
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
plural of “pass” — (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
a momentary flash of light
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
English writer (1832-1904)
From this reading Stephen caught his breath.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
at the time that
From this reading THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid?
Chapter 4 of The Crisis — Volume 01 by Winston Churchill holds 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 143 sentences of The Crisis — Volume 01, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Crisis — Volume 01 by Winston Churchill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 Crisis — Volume 01 by Winston Churchill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1509 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5388 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5388, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 125 minutes of reading across 302 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crisis — Volume 01 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Crisis — Volume 01 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 Crisis — Volume 01, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
