Chapter 4 of The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Despencer could not quite resist a sneer. “I should think that was easy enough. You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.” Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer: “And what will be her answer?”
Chapter 4 of The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading “Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading ““I should think that was easy enough.”
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading “Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.””
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading “Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.”
a river in Ontario that flows northeast into Hudson Bay
From this reading “You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.””
express through a scornful smile
From this reading “Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.”
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 should think that was easy enough.”
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 Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And what will be her answer?”
react verbally
From this reading “And what will be her answer?”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “And what will be her answer?”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “And what will be her answer?”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
a polite name for any woman
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
and nothing more
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
on the contrary
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
a river in Ontario that flows northeast into Hudson Bay
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
express through a scornful smile
From this reading Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I should think that was easy enough.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “And what will be her answer?”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “And what will be her answer?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You have only to ask the lady if she knows Lord Severn.”
Chapter 4 of The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers by Allen Upward holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 424 sentences of The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers by Allen Upward exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Slaves of Society: A Comedy in Covers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
