Chapter 4 of The Little Match Man is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Little Match Man is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me. “My father was the geni of a maple tree. My mother was the spirit of a birch tree. They died of old age when their trees withered. I was lively and vigorous.
Chapter 4 of The Little Match Man is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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 hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.”
hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
From this reading “My mother was the spirit of a birch tree.”
full of life and energy
From this reading “I was lively and vigorous.”
wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading ““My father was the geni of a maple tree.”
large mostly Old World wading birds typically having white-and-black plumage
From this reading “ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.”
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading ““My father was the geni of a maple tree.”
characterized by forceful and energetic action or activity
From this reading “I was lively and vigorous.”
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading “They died of old age when their trees withered.”
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.
any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula having a thin peeling bark
In this reading “My mother was the spirit of a birch tree.”
In this reading ““My father was the geni of a maple tree.”
a late time of life
In this reading “They died of old age when their trees withered.”
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 ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
how long something has existed
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
From this reading My mother was the spirit of a birch tree.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was lively and vigorous.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
full of life and energy
From this reading I was lively and vigorous.
wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading My mother was the spirit of a birch tree.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading My mother was the spirit of a birch tree.
large mostly Old World wading birds typically having white-and-black plumage
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
characterized by forceful and energetic action or activity
From this reading I was lively and vigorous.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “My father was the geni of a maple tree.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE This is what he told me.
at the time that
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading They died of old age when their trees withered.
Chapter 4 of The Little Match Man by Luigi Barzini holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 131 sentences of The Little Match Man, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Little Match Man by Luigi Barzini exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 Little Match Man by Luigi Barzini on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1293 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54678 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54678, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 107 minutes of reading across 259 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little Match Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Little Match Man 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 Little Match Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
