Chapter 4 of The Tracy diamonds is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Tracy diamonds is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. AND MRS. DALTON. “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago. This tarvern wasn’t built then.
Chapter 4 of The Tracy diamonds is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
in the past
From this reading ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading “This tarvern wasn’t built then.”
English chemist and physicist who formulated atomic theory and the law of partial pressures; gave the first description of red-green color blindness (1766-1844)
From this reading “DALTON.”
being ten more than seventy
From this reading ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
ten 10s
From this reading ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
a late time of life
From this reading ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
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 ““You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.”
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 “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
in the past
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AND MRS.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading This tarvern wasn’t built then.
English chemist and physicist who formulated atomic theory and the law of partial pressures; gave the first description of red-green color blindness (1766-1844)
From this reading DALTON.
being ten more than seventy
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
ten 10s
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading AND MRS.
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This tarvern wasn’t built then.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading This tarvern wasn’t built then.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This tarvern wasn’t built then.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
a late time of life
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You see, ’twas this way, and it happened nigh on to eighty or a hundred years ago.
Chapter 4 of The Tracy diamonds by Mary Jane Holmes holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 65 sentences of The Tracy diamonds, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Tracy diamonds by Mary Jane Holmes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 Tracy diamonds by Mary Jane Holmes 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 Tracy diamonds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Tracy diamonds 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 Tracy diamonds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
