Chapter 4 of The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ABBESS GIVES ADVICE. With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting. Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame? Had his mother concealed aught? She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
Chapter 4 of The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 quantity of no importance
From this reading “Had his mother concealed aught?”
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
not accessible to view
From this reading “Had his mother concealed aught?”
something intended to communicate a particular impression
From this reading “Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?”
feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed
From this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
past form of “rack” — go at a rack
From this reading “Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?”
start suddenly, as from fright
From this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
weep convulsively
From this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
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 “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
In this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
come into existence; take on form or shape
In this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
In this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
In this reading “With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.”
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 With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
the superior of a group of nuns
From this reading THE ABBESS GIVES ADVICE.
a proposal for an appropriate course of action
From this reading THE ABBESS GIVES ADVICE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
a quantity of no importance
From this reading Had his mother concealed aught?
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
not accessible to view
From this reading Had his mother concealed aught?
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
something intended to communicate a particular impression
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
enclose in or as if in a frame
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading THE ABBESS GIVES ADVICE.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had his mother concealed aught?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Had his mother concealed aught?
moving to the inside of something
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Had his mother concealed aught?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
past form of “rack” — go at a rack
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
start suddenly, as from fright
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
weep convulsively
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
express a supposition
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ABBESS GIVES ADVICE.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
a source of difficulty
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She had not led him to suppose that it was as bad as this.
during the time that
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why this display of trouble so deep that it racked her frame?
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a great sob O'Tei sprang up, and, clinging closely to Sampei, burst into tears, while he, embarrassed and somewhat shy, stood waiting.
Chapter 4 of The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan by Lewis Wingfield holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 197 sentences of The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan by Lewis Wingfield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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.
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About 338 minutes of reading across 812 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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