Chapter 4 of The Night-Born is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Night-Born is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The bull was now angry and excited. The capadors had great game with him. He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter. But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm. “He has no chance,” said John Harned.
Chapter 4 of The Night-Born is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading “The bull was now angry and excited.”
plural of “cape” — a strip of land projecting into a body of water
From this reading “But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.”
of a particle or body or system; having a net amount of positive or negative electric charge
From this reading “But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.”
bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a particular cause, action, or attitude
From this reading “But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.”
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading “He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.”
any of several mostly spotted fishes that resemble groupers
From this reading “He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.”
(of farmland) broken and turned over with a plow
From this reading “He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.”
a quick and penetrating intelligence
From this reading “He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.”
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.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
feeling or showing anger
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The capadors had great game with him.
plural of “cape” — a strip of land projecting into a body of water
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “He has no chance,” said John Harned.
of a particle or body or system; having a net amount of positive or negative electric charge
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a particular cause, action, or attitude
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading The capadors had great game with him.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The capadors had great game with him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The capadors had great game with him.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He has no chance,” said John Harned.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “He has no chance,” said John Harned.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The capadors had great game with him.
any of several mostly spotted fishes that resemble groupers
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “He has no chance,” said John Harned.
staying power
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
not any; not one
From this reading But he charged always the flung capes and committed no harm.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
(of farmland) broken and turned over with a plow
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
one of four equal parts
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “He has no chance,” said John Harned.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
a quick and penetrating intelligence
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
precisely as stated
From this reading He was very quick, and sometimes he turned with such sharpness that his hind legs lost their footing and he plowed the sand with his quarter.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The bull was now angry and excited.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The capadors had great game with him.
Chapter 4 of The Night-Born by Jack London holds 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 233 sentences of The Night-Born, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Night-Born by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Night-Born by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4015 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1029 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1029, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 803 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Night-Born section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Night-Born 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 Night-Born, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
