Chapter 4 of The Foolish Virgin is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Foolish Virgin is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions. It was all too sudden, too stunning. She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life. Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds. The world was beautiful.
Chapter 4 of The Foolish Virgin is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole
From this reading “Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.”
plural of “crowd” — a large number of things or people considered together
From this reading “Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.”
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.”
in a slow and lazy manner
From this reading “Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.”
so strong as to be irresistible
From this reading “She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.”
plural of “pillow” — a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading “Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.”
commanding attention
From this reading “It was all too sudden, too stunning.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
(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 It was all too sudden, too stunning.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading The world was beautiful.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
plural of “crowd” — a large number of things or people considered together
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
plural of “emotion” — any strong feeling
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was all too sudden, too stunning.
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
in a slow and lazy manner
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
not any; not one
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mary attempted no analysis of her emotions.
so strong as to be irresistible
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
plural of “pillow” — a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
commanding attention
From this reading It was all too sudden, too stunning.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading It was all too sudden, too stunning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She was content to feel and enjoy the first overwhelming experience of life.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It was all too sudden, too stunning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was all too sudden, too stunning.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Hour after hour she lay among the pillows of her couch in the dim light of the street lamps and lazily watched the passing Saturday evening crowds.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading The world was beautiful.
Chapter 4 of The Foolish Virgin by Thomas, Jr. Dixon holds 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 56 sentences of The Foolish Virgin, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Foolish Virgin by Thomas, Jr. Dixon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 Foolish Virgin by Thomas, Jr. Dixon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5614 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1634 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1634, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 467 minutes of reading across 1123 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Foolish Virgin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Foolish Virgin 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 Foolish Virgin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
