Chapter 4 of Two-Legs is here in full — 428 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 Two-Legs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow. The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes. His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep. At every moment she heaved a deep sigh. All was still in the forest.
Chapter 4 of Two-Legs is here in full — 428 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.
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading “The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.”
past form of “heave” — utter a sound, as with obvious effort
From this reading “At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.”
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading “The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.”
large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
From this reading “The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.”
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.”
the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading “His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.”
the state of being asleep
From this reading “His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.”
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading “His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.”
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 “It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.”
In this reading “All was still in the forest.”
In this reading “It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.”
keep or lay aside for future use
In this reading “The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.”
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 At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
later than; following
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
(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 All was still in the forest.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
plural of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading All was still in the forest.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
past form of “heave” — utter a sound, as with obvious effort
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
a particular point in time
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.
the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading At every moment she heaved a deep sigh.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.
the state of being asleep
From this reading His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
not in physical motion
From this reading All was still in the forest.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His spouse was sleeping or pretending to sleep.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was one night, some days after the animals had held their meeting in the meadow.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading The lion lay in his lair, as was his custom, and stared with his yellow eyes.
Chapter 4 of Two-Legs by Carl Ewald holds 428 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 428 sentences of Two-Legs, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Two-Legs by Carl Ewald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 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 Two-Legs by Carl Ewald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2530 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65029 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65029, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 210 minutes of reading across 506 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Two-Legs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Two-Legs 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 Two-Legs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
