Chapter 4 of The Disentanglers is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Disentanglers is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.' 'After her cat! D--- her cat,' cried Mr. Fulton. 'My dinner will be ruined! It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
Chapter 4 of The Disentanglers is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
From this reading “'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'”
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “'My dinner will be ruined!”
American inventor who designed the first commercially successful steamboat and the first steam warship (1765-1815)
From this reading “D--- her cat,' cried Mr. Fulton.”
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading “'My dinner will be ruined!”
possessive form of “somebody” — a human being
From this reading “'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'”
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'”
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading “It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.”
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 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
later than; following
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'My dinner will be ruined!
a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading D--- her cat,' cried Mr. Fulton.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading D--- her cat,' cried Mr. Fulton.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading 'My dinner will be ruined!
American inventor who designed the first commercially successful steamboat and the first steam warship (1765-1815)
From this reading D--- her cat,' cried Mr. Fulton.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
immediately past
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
a form of address for a man
From this reading D--- her cat,' cried Mr. Fulton.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'My dinner will be ruined!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading 'My dinner will be ruined!
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
term of address for a man
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
possessive form of “somebody” — a human being
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading 'Somebody's taken her cat, sir, and is off, in a cab, and her after him.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading It is the last she shall touch in _this_ house.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading 'My dinner will be ruined!
Chapter 4 of The Disentanglers by Andrew Lang holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 397 sentences of The Disentanglers, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Disentanglers by Andrew Lang exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Disentanglers by Andrew Lang on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7308 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17031 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17031, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1462 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Disentanglers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Disentanglers 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 Disentanglers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
