Chapter 4 of The Unspeakable Perk 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 Unspeakable Perk is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?” “Oh, that!” A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses. “That was the idea.” “I know the trick.
Chapter 4 of The Unspeakable Perk 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.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading ““You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?””
a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
From this reading ““You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?””
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.”
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading “A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.”
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading “A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.”
the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
From this reading ““You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?””
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading ““I know the trick.”
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 A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I know the trick.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “That was the idea.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “I know the trick.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, that!”
above and across; more than
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
spread across or over
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Oh, that!”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A slow grin overspread the space beneath the glasses.
the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “I know the trick.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “That was the idea.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’d dive into my knees, wouldn’t you, and tip me over backward?”
Chapter 4 of The Unspeakable Perk by Samuel Hopkins Adams holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 Unspeakable Perk, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Unspeakable Perk by Samuel Hopkins Adams exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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.
Common questions about reading The Unspeakable Perk by Samuel Hopkins Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4121 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5009 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5009, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 343 minutes of reading across 825 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Unspeakable Perk section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Unspeakable Perk 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 Unspeakable Perk, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
