Chapter 4 of The Rat Race is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Rat Race is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Winnie!" The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong. "Yes, dear!" I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S. "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
Chapter 4 of The Rat Race is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
in a reflex manner
From this reading “I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.”
past form of “crackle” — make a crackling sound
From this reading “The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.”
incapable of being placated
From this reading “The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.”
any long and tedious address or recital
From this reading “"What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.”
cut off or left behind
From this reading “I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.”
excessive desire to possess or dominate
From this reading “"What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.”
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading “The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.”
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 “The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.”
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 The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
feeling or showing anger
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
in a reflex manner
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
without stop or interruption
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
past form of “crackle” — make a crackling sound
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
dearly loved
From this reading "Yes, dear!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
incapable of being placated
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
any long and tedious address or recital
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
cut off or left behind
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
above and across; more than
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
excessive desire to possess or dominate
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
the capital of the United States in the District of Columbia and a tourist mecca; George Washington commissioned Charles L'Enfant to lay out the city in 1791
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What _is_ the matter?" the voice continued, in its litany of angry possessiveness.
which person or people
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Winnie!"
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I answered automatically, with a passing thought for my own lost Dorothy, marooned in Washington with a job in the O.S.S.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, dear!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The voice that crackled at me over the wire had all the implacable tenderness of a woman who has you in the wrong.
Chapter 4 of The Rat Race by Jay Franklin holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 198 sentences of The Rat Race, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Rat Race by Jay Franklin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Rat Race by Jay Franklin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6721 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51854 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51854, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 560 minutes of reading across 1345 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rat Race section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Rat Race 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 Rat Race, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
