Chapter 4 of The First Man is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The First Man is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SHEFFIELD--[Sharply.] Sshh! I think I hear Curt now. [JOHN sits down abruptly. All stiffen into stony attitudes. The door is opened and CURT enters.
Chapter 4 of The First Man is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “[JOHN sits down abruptly.”
plural of “attitude” — a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading “All stiffen into stony attitudes.”
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading “I think I hear Curt now.”
third-person singular of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “The door is opened and CURT enters.”
a steel manufacturing city in northern England famous for its cutlery industry
From this reading “SHEFFIELD--[Sharply.] Sshh!”
third-person singular of “sit” — be seated
From this reading “[JOHN sits down abruptly.”
become stiff or stiffer
From this reading “All stiffen into stony attitudes.”
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading “All stiffen into stony attitudes.”
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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading [JOHN sits down abruptly.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All stiffen into stony attitudes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The door is opened and CURT enters.
plural of “attitude” — a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading All stiffen into stony attitudes.
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading I think I hear Curt now.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The door is opened and CURT enters.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading [JOHN sits down abruptly.
third-person singular of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading The door is opened and CURT enters.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I think I hear Curt now.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I think I hear Curt now.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading All stiffen into stony attitudes.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The door is opened and CURT enters.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading [JOHN sits down abruptly.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I think I hear Curt now.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading The door is opened and CURT enters.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading SHEFFIELD--[Sharply.] Sshh!
a steel manufacturing city in northern England famous for its cutlery industry
From this reading SHEFFIELD--[Sharply.] Sshh!
third-person singular of “sit” — be seated
From this reading [JOHN sits down abruptly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SHEFFIELD--[Sharply.] Sshh!
become stiff or stiffer
From this reading All stiffen into stony attitudes.
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading All stiffen into stony attitudes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The door is opened and CURT enters.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I think I hear Curt now.
Chapter 4 of The First Man by Eugene O'Neill holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 407 sentences of The First Man, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The First Man by Eugene O'Neill exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 First Man by Eugene O'Neill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2032 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4026 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4026, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 169 minutes of reading across 407 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The First Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The First Man 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 First Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
