Chapter 4 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street. Summer passed away too. Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane. A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground. The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
Chapter 4 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading “Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.”
a shop where books are sold
From this reading “Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.”
a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
From this reading “A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.”
sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors
From this reading “Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.”
in a rhythmic manner
From this reading “The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.”
limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading “Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.”
under the level of the ground
From this reading “A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.”
suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
From this reading “Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.”
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.
street name for lysergic acid diethylamide
In this reading “Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.”
any tree of the genus Malus especially those bearing firm rounded edible fruits
In this reading “Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
In this reading “Summer passed away too.”
at or in the front
In this reading “Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.”
In this reading “The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.”
In this reading “The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.”
In this reading “Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.”
In this reading “A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.”
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 A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Summer passed away too.
formed or made thin by hammering
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
a shop where books are sold
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
a state of high honor
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Summer passed away too.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
separated in relationship by a given degree of descent
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
in a rhythmic manner
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading The heavy steps of the new national guard rang rhythmically along the ground.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading Summer passed away too.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Summer passed away too.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
under the level of the ground
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading A sound came from outside as if a drum were being beaten underground.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Wind had removed the vernal glory of the apple tree in front of the bookshop in Snake Street.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Anne leaned her forehead against the window pane.
Chapter 4 of The Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 157 sentences of The Old House: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5724 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66344 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66344, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 477 minutes of reading across 1145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old House: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Old House: A Novel 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 Old House: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
