Chapter 4 of The Master of the World is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Master of the World is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What a bewildering affair it was altogether! This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it. Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed. The inventor and his invention were not to be bought. And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
Chapter 4 of The Master of the World is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
-ing form of “bewilder” — be a mystery or bewildering to
From this reading “What a bewildering affair it was altogether!”
past form of “couch” — formulate in a particular style or language
From this reading “And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!”
having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
From this reading “And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!”
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading “The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.”
someone who is the first to think of or make something
From this reading “The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.”
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading “And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!”
plural of “million” — the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.”
the act of refusing
From this reading “And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!”
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 What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
(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 This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
-ing form of “bewilder” — be a mystery or bewildering to
From this reading What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
the lower side of anything
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
past form of “couch” — formulate in a particular style or language
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
having your services engaged for; or having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
of great significance or value
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
someone who is the first to think of or make something
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
plural of “million” — the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
the act of refusing
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Since the millions of dollars had been refused, force must be employed.
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading And in what haughty and menacing terms he had couched his refusal!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This, of course, made it all the more important to get to the bottom of it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The inventor and his invention were not to be bought.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a bewildering affair it was altogether!
Chapter 4 of The Master of the World by Jules Verne holds 453 sentences, grouped into 91 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 453 sentences of The Master of the World, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Master of the World by Jules Verne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Master of the World by Jules Verne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2739 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3809 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3809, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 228 minutes of reading across 548 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Master of the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Master of the World 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 Master of the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
