Chapter 4 of The Great Accident is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Great Accident is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together. Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table. It was a good supper. Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream. And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
Chapter 4 of The Great Accident is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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 Hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
From this reading “COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.”
of the color of cream
From this reading “Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.”
the quality of excelling; possessing good qualities in high degree
From this reading “And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.”
cooked by frying in fat
From this reading “Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.”
a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country' (1755-1776)
From this reading “Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.”
past form of “mash” — to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading “Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.”
any of various soft thick unsweetened baked dishes
From this reading “And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.”
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 “Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.”
In this reading “COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.”
as an example
In this reading “Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.”
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 was a good supper.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
Having no one else present.
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
a Hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
having been prepared for eating by the application of heat
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
a body serving in an administrative capacity
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
the best people or things in a group
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
of the color of cream
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
a female human offspring
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
an item of information that is typical of a class or group
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
the quality of excelling; possessing good qualities in high degree
From this reading And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
cooked by frying in fat
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It was a good supper.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country' (1755-1776)
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
a social unit living together
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
past form of “mash” — to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
the middle of the day
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading Fried chicken, for example; and mashed potatoes as creamy as--cream.
any of various soft thick unsweetened baked dishes
From this reading And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
granular preparation of cassava starch used to thicken especially puddings
From this reading And afterwards, apple tapioca pudding of a peculiar excellence.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Old Maria Hale cooked the supper, and Agnes brought it to the table.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading COUNCIL OF WAR Amos Caretall and his daughter had supper--dinner was at midday in the Caretall household--alone together.
Chapter 4 of The Great Accident by Ben Ames Williams holds 277 sentences, grouped into 56 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 277 sentences of The Great Accident, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Great Accident by Ben Ames Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 277 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 Great Accident by Ben Ames Williams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12440 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64002 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64002, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2488 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Accident section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Great Accident 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 Great Accident, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
