Chapter 4 of The Quickening is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Quickening is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel. A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror. He looked up quickly. "Nan!" he cried. She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
Chapter 4 of The Quickening is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired
From this reading “XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.”
a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids
From this reading “She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.”
indistinct or hazy in outline
From this reading “A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.”
create by hammering
From this reading “XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.”
polished surface that forms images by reflecting light
From this reading “A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.”
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading “She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.”
your grandmother
From this reading “"Nan!" he cried.”
having a sunken area
From this reading “XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.”
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 A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
indistinct or hazy in outline
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Nan!" he cried.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
start firing a weapon
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
create by hammering
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
having an easygoing and cheerful disposition
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked up quickly.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
polished surface that forms images by reflecting light
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
your grandmother
From this reading "Nan!" he cried.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
above and across; more than
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
with speed
From this reading He looked up quickly.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
having a supporting base
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
having a sunken area
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He looked up quickly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading A shadow, not his own, blurred the water mirror.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She was standing on the opposite side of the barrel basin, looking down on him with good-natured mockery in the dark eyes.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading XII THE IRON IN THE FORGE FIRE He was bending over the sunken barrel.
Chapter 4 of The Quickening by Francis Lynde holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 414 sentences of The Quickening, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Quickening by Francis Lynde exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Quickening by Francis Lynde on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5780 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17357 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17357, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 481 minutes of reading across 1156 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Quickening section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Quickening 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 Quickening, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
