Chapter 4 of The provincial American and other papers is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The provincial American and other papers is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You may read, if you like,” she said. “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered. I wished to be conciliatory. At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish. My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
Chapter 4 of The provincial American and other papers is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
making or willing to make concessions
From this reading “I wished to be conciliatory.”
a state of being confined (usually for a short time)
From this reading “My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.”
producing no result or effect
From this reading “My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.”
established beyond doubt
From this reading “My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.”
move upward
From this reading “At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.”
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.”
get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.”
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.
by three orders of magnitude
In this reading “My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.”
In this reading “At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.”
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 My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I wished to be conciliatory.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
making or willing to make concessions
From this reading I wished to be conciliatory.
a state of being confined (usually for a short time)
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
producing no result or effect
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
a particular point in time
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
established beyond doubt
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
on the contrary
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
move upward
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
express in words
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “Thank you; but I’d rather have you tell me things,” I answered.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I wished to be conciliatory.
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading At any moment, I knew she might rise and vanish.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My tricks of detention had proved futile a thousand times; I was always losing her.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading I wished to be conciliatory.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You may read, if you like,” she said.
Chapter 4 of The provincial American and other papers by Meredith Nicholson holds 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 392 sentences of The provincial American and other papers, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The provincial American and other papers by Meredith Nicholson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The provincial American and other papers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
