Chapter 4 of The step on the stair is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The step on the stair is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?” He shook his head and muttered sadly: “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child. She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.” My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
Chapter 4 of The step on the stair is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading ““Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?””
a flag that shows its nationality
From this reading ““I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.”
the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading ““Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?””
put up with something or somebody unpleasant
From this reading “She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.””
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “He shook his head and muttered sadly:”
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading “She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.””
in an unfortunate way
From this reading “He shook his head and muttered sadly:”
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading “My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.”
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.
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.
a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
a young person of either sex
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
a flag that shows its nationality
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
put up with something or somebody unpleasant
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
yet to be or coming
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
and nothing more
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
in an unfortunate way
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading He shook his head and muttered sadly:
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “I dare not show myself in such colors to my only child.
carry out
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My heart was sad, my future lost in shadows, but there was only one course for me to take.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She would lose her respect for me, and that I could never endure.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Uncle, have you _asked_ her to aid your decision?”
Chapter 4 of The step on the stair by Anna Katharine Green holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 402 sentences of The step on the stair, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The step on the stair by Anna Katharine Green exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 step on the stair by Anna Katharine Green 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 step on the stair section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The step on the stair 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 step on the stair, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
