Chapter 4 of The Last Penny is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Last Penny is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IT was in that mood that he decided to go home. The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery. So much the better. He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him. He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
Chapter 4 of The Last Penny is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
From this reading “The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.”
dearly loved
From this reading “He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:”
past form of “decline” — grow worse
From this reading “He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:”
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading “He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:”
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading “The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.”
coming next after the eleventh and just before the thirteenth in position
From this reading “The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.”
compelling immediate action
From this reading “He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:”
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.
return home
In this reading “IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.”
In this reading “He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.”
In this reading “The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.”
In this reading “He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.”
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 found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
dearly loved
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading So much the better.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
recognizable; marked
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
past form of “decline” — grow worse
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
set up or found
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
the literary culture
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading So much the better.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
a feeling of sorrow (often self-indulgent) over your own sufferings
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So much the better.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
coming next after the eleventh and just before the thirteenth in position
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
compelling immediate action
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading He found some letters and a telegram waiting for him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading IT was in that mood that he decided to go home.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading The little house on West Twelfth Street was the abode of misery.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He opened the telegram, certain that it was an urgent invitation to join beloved merrymakers--an invitation that he declined in advance with much self-pity He read:
Chapter 4 of The Last Penny by Edwin Lefevre holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 138 sentences of The Last Penny, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Last Penny by Edwin Lefevre exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Last Penny by Edwin Lefevre on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4946 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51966 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51966, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 412 minutes of reading across 990 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last Penny section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Last Penny 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 Last Penny, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
