Chapter 4 of The Social Secretary is here in full — 450 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 Social Secretary is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She patted me and kissed me on top of my head. "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it! My! My! I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
Chapter 4 of The Social Secretary is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
any person at all
From this reading “I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “"What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.”
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading “She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.”
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading “"What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.”
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 “"What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!”
In this reading “She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.”
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 "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
any person at all
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
dearly loved
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
at any time
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
the upper part of anything
From this reading She patted me and kissed me on top of my head.
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading I don't see how anybody that looks like you do could ever be unhappy a minute.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What pretty, soft hair you have, dear," she said, "and what a lot of it!
Chapter 4 of The Social Secretary by David Graham Phillips holds 450 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 450 sentences of The Social Secretary, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Social Secretary by David Graham Phillips exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 450 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 Social Secretary by David Graham Phillips on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1803 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55719 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55719, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 150 minutes of reading across 361 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Social Secretary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Social Secretary 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 Social Secretary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
