Chapter 4 of The programmed people is here in full — 38 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The programmed people is here in full — 38 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President. "She went last night, regardless." The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head. "Seems to me I did, Fred. I could have forgotten, of course."
Chapter 4 of The programmed people is here in full — 38 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading “The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.”
the wife of your son
From this reading “"Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.”
United States comic actor in silent films; he used physical danger as a source of comedy (1893-1971)
From this reading “The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.”
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading “"Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.”
past form of “reassign” — transfer somebody to a different position or location of work
From this reading “"Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.”
in spite of everything; without regard to drawbacks
From this reading “"She went last night, regardless."”
past form of “scratch” — cause friction
From this reading “The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.”
older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service
From this reading “The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.”
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 “"She went last night, regardless."”
as might be expected
In this reading “I could have forgotten, of course."”
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 "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could have forgotten, of course."
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading I could have forgotten, of course."
the wife of your son
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Seems to me I did, Fred.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading I could have forgotten, of course."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Seems to me I did, Fred.
yet to be or coming
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I could have forgotten, of course."
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Seems to me I did, Fred.
immediately past
From this reading "She went last night, regardless."
United States comic actor in silent films; he used physical danger as a source of comedy (1893-1971)
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Seems to me I did, Fred.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "She went last night, regardless."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I could have forgotten, of course."
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
past form of “reassign” — transfer somebody to a different position or location of work
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
in spite of everything; without regard to drawbacks
From this reading "She went last night, regardless."
past form of “scratch” — cause friction
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "Seems to me I did, Fred.
older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service
From this reading The man addressed, Lloyd Bodger, Senior, scratched his head.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She went last night, regardless."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
express in words
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "She went last night, regardless."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Didn't you tell your future daughter-in-law she'd been reassigned to a new Temple Day?" asked the President.
Chapter 4 of The programmed people by Jack Sharkey holds 38 sentences, grouped into 8 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 38 sentences of The programmed people, unabridged, divided into 8 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The programmed people by Jack Sharkey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 38 sentences, grouped into 8 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 8 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 8 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The programmed people section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The programmed people 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 programmed people, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
