Chapter 4 of "This was a man" is here in full — 401 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 "This was a man" is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You might be shocked. EVELYN As bad as that? CAROL Yes—as bad as that. EVELYN I don’t believe it. CAROL Good.
Chapter 4 of "This was a man" is here in full — 401 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “EVELYN As bad as that?”
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “EVELYN I don’t believe it.”
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading “CAROL Yes—as bad as that.”
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “CAROL Good.”
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading “You might be shocked.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “You might be shocked.”
an affirmative
From this reading “CAROL Yes—as bad as that.”
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading EVELYN As bad as that?
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading EVELYN As bad as that?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You might be shocked.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading EVELYN I don’t believe it.
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading CAROL Yes—as bad as that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EVELYN I don’t believe it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EVELYN As bad as that?
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading CAROL Good.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading EVELYN I don’t believe it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading EVELYN I don’t believe it.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading You might be shocked.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading You might be shocked.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading EVELYN As bad as that?
an affirmative
From this reading CAROL Yes—as bad as that.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You might be shocked.
Chapter 4 of "This was a man" by Noël Coward holds 401 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 401 sentences of "This was a man", unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of "This was a man" by Noël Coward exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 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 "This was a man" by Noël Coward 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 "This was a man" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of "This was a man" 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 "This was a man", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
