Chapter 4 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, don’t, Nell! I can’t help it! I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!" "In the box?" "N-no!
Chapter 4 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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 top worn by women
From this reading “I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"”
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading “"In the box?"”
to or in any or all places
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"”
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “I can’t help it!”
reflecting the fear or terror of one who is hunted
From this reading “I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"”
a thin strip of covered cord used to edge hems
From this reading “I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"”
a Caucasian
From this reading “I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"”
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 top worn by women
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading "In the box?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can’t help it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, don’t, Nell!
to or in any or all places
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading I can’t help it!
reflecting the fear or terror of one who is hunted
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can’t help it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "In the box?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I can’t help it!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "N-no!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, don’t, Nell!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, don’t, Nell!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
a thin strip of covered cord used to edge hems
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
a Caucasian
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
in the company of; together with
From this reading I _can’t_ find my grey blouse—the one with the white piping—I’ve hunted _everywhere_!"
Chapter 4 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 391 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8807 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45324, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1762 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Young O'Briens section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Young O'Briens 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 Young O'Briens, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
