Chapter 4 of The Riddle and the Ring is here in full — 447 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Riddle and the Ring is here in full — 447 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Barry shivered at the thought. Then he laughed mirthlessly. The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness. It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her. She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
Chapter 4 of The Riddle and the Ring is here in full — 447 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading “The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.”
be the source of pain
From this reading “She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.”
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “Then he laughed mirthlessly.”
participate in games or sport
From this reading “It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.”
an earnest and sincere feeling
From this reading “The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.”
past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading “Barry shivered at the thought.”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.”
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 “It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.”
keep in mind for attention or consideration
In this reading “It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.”
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Barry shivered at the thought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Barry shivered at the thought.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he laughed mirthlessly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
be the source of pain
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Then he laughed mirthlessly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he laughed mirthlessly.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
participate in games or sport
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
an earnest and sincere feeling
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading Barry shivered at the thought.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Barry shivered at the thought.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he laughed mirthlessly.
a special situation
From this reading She must never know how much the thing had hurt him.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Barry shivered at the thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
a source of difficulty
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It was up to him to think of some way to play up to her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The trouble with him was that he had taken the jest with deadly seriousness.
Chapter 4 of The Riddle and the Ring by Gordon MacLaren holds 447 sentences, grouped into 90 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 447 sentences of The Riddle and the Ring, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Riddle and the Ring by Gordon MacLaren exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 447 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Riddle and the Ring by Gordon MacLaren on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3559 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43298 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43298, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 296 minutes of reading across 712 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Riddle and the Ring section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Riddle and the Ring 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 Riddle and the Ring, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
