Chapter 4 of The shadow girl is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The shadow girl is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi. The episode with the girl had taken only a moment. I had spoken to her; I said fatuously: "Don't you know us?" She did not seem to try to answer.
Chapter 4 of The shadow girl is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by the walls of a house.
From this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
well in the past; former
From this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
a happening that is distinctive in a series of related events
From this reading “The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.”
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
coated with paint
From this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading “I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:”
travel slowly
From this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
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 SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
In this reading “THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.”
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 episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
react verbally
From this reading She did not seem to try to answer.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by the walls of a house.
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
well in the past; former
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not seem to try to answer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you know us?"
a happening that is distinctive in a series of related events
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
vacuously or complacently and unconsciously foolish
From this reading I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:
a young female
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Don't you know us?"
a particular point in time
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not seem to try to answer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
and nothing more
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
coated with paint
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:
a hospital for recuperation or for the treatment of chronic diseases
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She did not seem to try to answer.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did not seem to try to answer.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
travel slowly
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I had spoken to her; I said fatuously:
make an effort or attempt
From this reading She did not seem to try to answer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Don't you know us?"
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
at the time that
From this reading THE SECRET OF THE COURTYARD The gray walls of the Turber Sanatorium were painted red by the falling sun when we departed in our waiting taxi.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The episode with the girl had taken only a moment.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you know us?"
Chapter 4 of The shadow girl by Ray Cummings holds 472 sentences, grouped into 95 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 472 sentences of The shadow girl, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The shadow girl by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 472 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 shadow girl by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
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 shadow girl section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The shadow girl 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 shadow girl, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
