Chapter 4 of The unpretenders is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The unpretenders is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do. First of all, what’s his name?’ “‘J--Jack,’ she stammered. The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic. “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
Chapter 4 of The unpretenders is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
find repugnant
From this reading ““‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.”
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading ““‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?”
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading ““‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.”
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.”
of or relating to hypnosis
From this reading “The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.”
a small worthless amount
From this reading ““‘J--Jack,’ she stammered.”
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading “The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.”
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
From this reading “The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
find repugnant
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
for the reason that
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading First of all, what’s his name?’
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘And he--ah, doesn’t bother you enough?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading First of all, what’s his name?’
of or relating to hypnosis
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading “‘J--Jack,’ she stammered.
a small worthless amount
From this reading “‘J--Jack,’ she stammered.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading First of all, what’s his name?’
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading First of all, what’s his name?’
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘J--Jack,’ she stammered.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘J--Jack,’ she stammered.
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The reason people hate that urbanity is because it’s a sort of subtle hypnotic.
polished courtesy; elegance of manner
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading First of all, what’s his name?’
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
an affirmative
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “‘Oh, yes, you do,’ I said--with that disgusting urbanity which has made all my friends abhor me, more or less--‘yes, you do.
Chapter 4 of The unpretenders by Ruth Cranston holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of The unpretenders, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The unpretenders by Ruth Cranston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 unpretenders by Ruth Cranston 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 unpretenders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The unpretenders 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 unpretenders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
