Chapter 4 of The Penalty is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Penalty is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why can't they?" "He knows too much about them individually and collectively. They're afraid of him. Get rid of him, Barbs." Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
Chapter 4 of The Penalty is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 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.
possessive form of “allen” — United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading “Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.”
able to attract interest or draw favorable attention
From this reading “Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.”
plural of “barb” — an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
From this reading “Get rid of him, Barbs."”
in conjunction with; combined
From this reading “"He knows too much about them individually and collectively.”
apart from others
From this reading “"He knows too much about them individually and collectively.”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “"He knows too much about them individually and collectively.”
relieve from
From this reading “Get rid of him, Barbs."”
with strength or in a strong manner
From this reading “Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading They're afraid of him.
possessive form of “allen” — United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
able to attract interest or draw favorable attention
From this reading Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
plural of “barb” — an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
From this reading Get rid of him, Barbs."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why can't they?"
in conjunction with; combined
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get rid of him, Barbs."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They're afraid of him.
apart from others
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They're afraid of him.
relieve from
From this reading Get rid of him, Barbs."
with strength or in a strong manner
From this reading Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why can't they?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They're afraid of him.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "He knows too much about them individually and collectively.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why can't they?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wilmot Allen's voice was strongly appealing.
Chapter 4 of The Penalty by Gouverneur Morris holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of The Penalty, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Penalty by Gouverneur Morris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Penalty by Gouverneur Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5676 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12557 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12557, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 473 minutes of reading across 1136 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Penalty section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Penalty 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 Penalty, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
