Chapter 4 of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?" What was to be done now? "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy. "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can. Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
Chapter 4 of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading “"This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.”
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “"I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.”
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading “"This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.”
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “Then I must run to the village in my wet things.”
travel through water
From this reading “"I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.”
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading “Then I must run to the village in my wet things.”
walk (through relatively shallow water)
From this reading “"I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.”
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading “Then I must run to the village in my wet things.”
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.
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 "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What was to be done now?
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading What was to be done now?
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?"
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading What was to be done now?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
travel through water
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is a greater bother than any of the others," said Alfy.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What was to be done now?
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
walk (through relatively shallow water)
From this reading "I expect I shall have to wade or swim now, if I can.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What was to be done now?
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading Then I must run to the village in my wet things.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?"
Chapter 4 of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks by F. M. (Frederic Morell) Holmes holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 166 sentences of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks by F. M. (Frederic Morell) Holmes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks by F. M. (Frederic Morell) Holmes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 938 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26627 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26627, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 78 minutes of reading across 188 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks 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 Island House: A Tale for the Young Folks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
