Chapter 1 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It would be as well to put a light curb on her." "Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely. Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed: "Confounded mare! I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
Chapter 1 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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 small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “"Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.”
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading “"Confounded mare!”
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading “"It would be as well to put a light curb on her."”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “"Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.”
female equine animal
From this reading “"Confounded mare!”
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading “I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."”
responsive to physical stimuli
From this reading “I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading “Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."”
In this reading “Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:”
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 would be as well to put a light curb on her."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading "Confounded mare!
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading "Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
female equine animal
From this reading "Confounded mare!
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading "Oh! a bit," returned Piscis gravely.
cut with a saw
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
responsive to physical stimuli
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
marked by absence of sound
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I never in my life saw such a sensitive mouth."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Both were silent for some minutes, then Pablito exclaimed:
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "It would be as well to put a light curb on her."
Chapter 1 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 by Armando Palacio Valdés holds 302 sentences, grouped into 61 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 1 holds 302 sentences of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 by Armando Palacio Valdés exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 302 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 1 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 Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 by Armando Palacio Valdés on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3312 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38394 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38394, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 276 minutes of reading across 663 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 2 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 Fourth Estate, Vol. 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
