Chapter 4 of The shoemaker is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The shoemaker is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying: “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself? It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West? I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot. That is more than you have, isn’t it?”
Chapter 4 of The shoemaker is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 shelter from danger or hardship
From this reading “I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.”
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.”
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:”
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading “I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.”
United States cartoonist who drew intricate diagrams of very complicated and impractical contraptions that accomplished little or nothing (1883-1970)
From this reading “As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:”
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading “As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:”
United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
From this reading “As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading “It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?”
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 “I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.”
In this reading “I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.”
In this reading “As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:”
In this reading ““Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?”
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 It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
a shelter from danger or hardship
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
United States cartoonist who drew intricate diagrams of very complicated and impractical contraptions that accomplished little or nothing (1883-1970)
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading That is more than you have, isn’t it?”
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is more than you have, isn’t it?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is more than you have, isn’t it?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
a polite name for any woman
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
express in words
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
an instance of visual perception
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading That is more than you have, isn’t it?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I heard some of the boys at the asylum say it takes more ’n fifteen dollars, and that’s an awful lot.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
moved around an axis or center
From this reading As Helen Pierson disappeared from their sight, Loney turned to Morris Goldberg, saying:
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading It takes a lot of money, don’t it, to go West?
at the time that
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “Mr. Goldberg, how can you help that poor lady when you are so poor yourself?
Chapter 4 of The shoemaker by Olive Harper holds 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 114 sentences of The shoemaker, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The shoemaker by Olive Harper exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 shoemaker by Olive Harper on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2862 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69408 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69408, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 238 minutes of reading across 573 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The shoemaker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The shoemaker 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 shoemaker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
