Chapter 4 of The Ordeal of Elizabeth is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Ordeal of Elizabeth is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Six months," he sighed. "It is an endless time." He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston. And she, too, had her regrets. The compromise was satisfactory to neither.
Chapter 4 of The Ordeal of Elizabeth is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.”
make a compromise; arrive at a compromise
From this reading “The compromise was satisfactory to neither.”
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading “"It is an endless time."”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.”
a polite refusal of an invitation
From this reading “And she, too, had her regrets.”
giving satisfaction
From this reading “The compromise was satisfactory to neither.”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “"Six months," he sighed.”
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading “He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.”
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 “"Six months," he sighed.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "It is an endless time."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
make a compromise; arrive at a compromise
From this reading The compromise was satisfactory to neither.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading "It is an endless time."
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And she, too, had her regrets.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Six months," he sighed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And she, too, had her regrets.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is an endless time."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is an endless time."
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading "Six months," he sighed.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading The compromise was satisfactory to neither.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
a polite refusal of an invitation
From this reading And she, too, had her regrets.
giving satisfaction
From this reading The compromise was satisfactory to neither.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And she, too, had her regrets.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading "Six months," he sighed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading "Six months," he sighed.
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "It is an endless time."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading And she, too, had her regrets.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was the picture of gloom as they turned and walked steadily back to the busy part of Cranston.
Chapter 4 of The Ordeal of Elizabeth by Anonymous holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of The Ordeal of Elizabeth, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Ordeal of Elizabeth by Anonymous exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Ordeal of Elizabeth by Anonymous on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6098 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40495 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40495, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 508 minutes of reading across 1220 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ordeal of Elizabeth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Ordeal of Elizabeth 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 of Elizabeth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
