Chapter 4 of The Man on the Box is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Man on the Box is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark! I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve. Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes! We'll have a little party here when they all get home. It's a good joke."
Chapter 4 of The Man on the Box is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading “I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.”
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “It's a good joke."”
North American songbirds having a yellow breast
From this reading “I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!”
any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
From this reading “I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.”
a slight surface cut (especially a notch that is made to keep a tally)
From this reading “I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading “I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!”
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 I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
the boundary of a surface
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It's a good joke."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
where you live at a particular time
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's a good joke."
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading It's a good joke."
North American songbirds having a yellow breast
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
the sound of laughing
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
a slight surface cut (especially a notch that is made to keep a tally)
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
carry out
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I can hear him saying to himself: "Lord, but this is a lark!
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I'll have to take another Scotch to screw up the edge of my nerve.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'll have a little party here when they all get home.
at the time that
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Won't the boys laugh when they hear how I stirred the girls' frizzes!
Chapter 4 of The Man on the Box by Harold MacGrath holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 397 sentences of The Man on the Box, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Man on the Box by Harold MacGrath exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Man on the Box by Harold MacGrath on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5683 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6578 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6578, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 473 minutes of reading across 1137 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man on the Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Man on the Box 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 Man on the Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
