Chapter 4 of The girls at his billet is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The girls at his billet is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE STRANGE CASE OF MR. CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard. The Incubus said, "Oh, yes, that's Curtis. Awfully good chap, Curtis." And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
Chapter 4 of The girls at his billet is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading “CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.”
used as intensifiers
From this reading “Awfully good chap, Curtis."”
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.”
a boy or man
From this reading “Awfully good chap, Curtis."”
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading “CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.”
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.”
close enough to be walked to
From this reading “CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.”
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.
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.”
In this reading “Awfully good chap, Curtis."”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
(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 And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
used as intensifiers
From this reading Awfully good chap, Curtis."
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
the two together, not just one
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
an occurrence of something
From this reading THE STRANGE CASE OF MR.
a boy or man
From this reading Awfully good chap, Curtis."
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Awfully good chap, Curtis."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
the sound of laughing
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE STRANGE CASE OF MR.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE STRANGE CASE OF MR.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading The Incubus said, "Oh, yes, that's Curtis.
above and across; more than
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The Incubus said, "Oh, yes, that's Curtis.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading THE STRANGE CASE OF MR.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Incubus said, "Oh, yes, that's Curtis.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STRANGE CASE OF MR.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading And then he began to laugh all over his silly baby face.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
precisely as stated
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
in the company of; together with
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
an affirmative
From this reading The Incubus said, "Oh, yes, that's Curtis.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading CURTIS This evening Evelyn began asking the Incubus about the very tall, dark young man we had seen him walking with the time that I had failed to escape them both down by the Hard.
Chapter 4 of The girls at his billet by Berta Ruck holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 151 sentences of The girls at his billet, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The girls at his billet by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The girls at his billet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
