Chapter 4 of The Lever: A Novel is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Lever: A Novel is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously. "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm. "Would you in his place?" "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy." "Did you--in his place?"
Chapter 4 of The Lever: A Novel is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “"You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.”
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “"You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.”
a youthful male person
From this reading “"That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."”
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “"Would you in his place?"”
in a serious manner
From this reading “"I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.”
the display of a motion picture
From this reading “"You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.”
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “"You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.”
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “"I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.”
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 "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
a youthful male person
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Did you--in his place?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Would you in his place?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Would you in his place?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
and nothing more
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Would you in his place?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
in a serious manner
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
the display of a motion picture
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading "I'm not so sure," Gorham said, seriously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "That's nothing to do with it; he's only a boy."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Would you in his place?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You don't think--" Sanford began, showing signs of alarm.
Chapter 4 of The Lever: A Novel by William Dana Orcutt holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 424 sentences of The Lever: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Lever: A Novel by William Dana Orcutt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Lever: A Novel by William Dana Orcutt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4681 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15430 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15430, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 390 minutes of reading across 937 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lever: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Lever: A Novel 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 Lever: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
