Chapter 20 of The Fourth Generation is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Fourth Generation is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone. He threw himself into a chair and tried to think. He could not. The power of concentration had left him. The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
Chapter 20 of The Fourth Generation is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/63 · 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.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
the strength of a solution; number of molecules of a substance in a given volume
From this reading “The power of concentration had left him.”
the act of discovering something
From this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925)
From this reading “THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.”
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.”
(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
From this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
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 “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
In this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
In this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
In this reading “He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.”
In this reading “The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.”
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 He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
Having no one else present.
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
the strength of a solution; number of molecules of a substance in a given volume
From this reading The power of concentration had left him.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not.
the act of discovering something
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
divisible by two
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The power of concentration had left him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The power of concentration had left him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
immediately past
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925)
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading The power of concentration had left him.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He threw himself into a chair and tried to think.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE SIGNS OF CHANGE Leonard was left alone.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The tension of the last three weeks, followed by the wholly unexpected nature of the discovery, was too much for a brain even so young and strong as his.
Chapter 20 of The Fourth Generation by Walter Besant holds 315 sentences, grouped into 63 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 20 holds 315 sentences of The Fourth Generation, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Fourth Generation by Walter Besant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 315 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 20 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 Generation by Walter Besant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6592 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50177 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50177, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 549 minutes of reading across 1319 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fourth Generation section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Fourth Generation 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 Generation, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
