Chapter 4 of The Face and the Mask is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Face and the Mask is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG. It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us. The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn. The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it. I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
Chapter 4 of The Face and the Mask is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
the season when the leaves fall from the trees
From this reading “The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.”
plural of “fog” — droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.”
the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day
From this reading “It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.”
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading “The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.”
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading “The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.”
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 It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
any thing at all
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
the season when the leaves fall from the trees
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
plural of “fog” — droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
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 I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading The fog did not seem to have anything unusual about it.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
precisely as stated
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading VI.--HOW THE SMOKE HELD DOWN THE FOG.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was on a Friday that the fog came down upon us.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading The weather was very fine up to the middle of November that autumn.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading I have seen many worse fogs than that appeared to be.
Chapter 4 of The Face and the Mask by Robert Barr holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of The Face and the Mask, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Face and the Mask by Robert Barr exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Face and the Mask by Robert Barr on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4711 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8681 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8681, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 943 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Face and the Mask section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Face and the Mask 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 Face and the Mask, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
