Chapter 4 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 249 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 249 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FIFTY-FOUR. Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him. She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished. Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers. West Point had made of them men--Americans.
Chapter 4 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 249 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
plural of “american” — a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading “West Point had made of them men--Americans.”
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading “Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.”
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading “She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.”
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading “Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.”
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
From this reading “She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.”
the body of people in a learned occupation
From this reading “She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.”
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.”
plural of “whistler” — United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading “Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.”
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 Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
plural of “american” — a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading West Point had made of them men--Americans.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
being four more than fifty
From this reading FIFTY-FOUR.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading West Point had made of them men--Americans.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.
the force of workers available
From this reading West Point had made of them men--Americans.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading West Point had made of them men--Americans.
the body of people in a learned occupation
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading West Point had made of them men--Americans.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She thought he had inherited a profession more distinguished.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading West Point had made of them men--Americans.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Though Whistler's mother was proud of his drawing, she did not see in art a career for him.
plural of “whistler” — United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading Many Whistlers and McNeills had been soldiers.
Chapter 4 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell holds 249 sentences, grouped into 50 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 249 sentences of The Life of James McNeill Whistler, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 249 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8629 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47363, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Life of James McNeill Whistler to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Life of James McNeill Whistler, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
