Chapter 4 of The Ordeal by Fire is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Ordeal by Fire is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas. My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up. "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago." The man himself appeared. In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
Chapter 4 of The Ordeal by Fire is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/61 · 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.
capability to perform or produce
From this reading “In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.”
a French caretaker of apartments or a hotel; lives on the premises and oversees people entering and leaving and handles mail and acts as janitor or porter
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “"We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."”
a man skilled in various odd jobs and other small tasks
From this reading “In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.”
past form of “hoist” — raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
From this reading “In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.”
an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading “In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.”
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading “PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.”
travel slowly
From this reading “My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.”
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.
In this reading “PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.”
form or arrange in order or formation, as of a body of soldiers
In this reading “My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.”
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.”
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 "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
in the past
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The man himself appeared.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
capability to perform or produce
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
a French caretaker of apartments or a hotel; lives on the premises and oversees people entering and leaving and handles mail and acts as janitor or porter
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.
a man skilled in various odd jobs and other small tasks
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The man himself appeared.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
past form of “hoist” — raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man himself appeared.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
a form of address for a man
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
and nothing more
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.
an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading PARIS, AT FIRST SIGHT Rue d'Assas.
travel slowly
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading In his capacity as handyman he hoisted my heavy trunk on to his shoulder, as if it were a plaything.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
at the time that
From this reading My _concierge_ came out when she heard the taxi draw up.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "We were expecting you, Mr. Dreher; I was sayin' as much to my 'usband, only a minute ago."
Chapter 4 of The Ordeal by Fire by Marcel Berger holds 307 sentences, grouped into 62 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 307 sentences of The Ordeal by Fire, unabridged, divided into 62 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Ordeal by Fire by Marcel Berger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 307 sentences, grouped into 62 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 62 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 62 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.
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Yes. All 11806 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60166 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60166, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2362 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ordeal by Fire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Ordeal by Fire 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 Ordeal by Fire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
