Chapter 4 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) is here in full — 930 sentences across 186 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) is here in full — 930 sentences across 186 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!" "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!" So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?" The Lover at last did say. It was a poor dinner.
Chapter 4 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) is here in full — 930 sentences across 186 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/186 · 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.
tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
From this reading “So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"”
go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “"Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"”
clothing in general
From this reading “So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"”
demanding attention
From this reading “A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"”
the first light of day
From this reading “So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"”
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"”
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading “So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"”
an old word for “yes”
From this reading “A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"”
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 A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Lover at last did say.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
clothing in general
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
demanding attention
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
absence of light or illumination
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
the first light of day
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The Lover at last did say.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading It was a poor dinner.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
immediately past
From this reading The Lover at last did say.
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
a condition requiring relief
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading It was a poor dinner.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
express in words
From this reading The Lover at last did say.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
up to a particular time
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading "Then climb this tree--for my sake," said she, "And climb it every day!"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a poor dinner.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading So from dawn till dark he abrazed the bark And wore his clothes away; Till, "What has this tree to do with thee?"
an old word for “yes”
From this reading A CRYING NEED "Lovest thou me?" said the Fair Ladye; And the Lover he said, "Yea!"
Chapter 4 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Charlotte Perkins [Editor] Gilman holds 930 sentences, grouped into 186 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 930 sentences of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910), unabridged, divided into 186 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Charlotte Perkins [Editor] Gilman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 930 sentences, grouped into 186 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 186 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 186 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 Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Charlotte Perkins [Editor] Gilman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15474 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3017 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3017, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3095 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) 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 Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
