Chapter 4 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom. He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy. To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling. He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests. He carried, moreover, an additional burden.
Chapter 4 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
further or added
From this reading “He carried, moreover, an additional burden.”
past form of “chasten” — censure severely
From this reading “He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.”
an expectation
From this reading “He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.”
the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
From this reading “To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.”
the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)
From this reading “To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.”
past form of “mourn” — feel sadness
From this reading “He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.”
in a softened tone
From this reading “Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.”
past form of “widen” — become broader or wider or more extensive
From this reading “He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.”
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 Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
further or added
From this reading He carried, moreover, an additional burden.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He carried, moreover, an additional burden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
an onerous or difficult concern
From this reading He carried, moreover, an additional burden.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading He carried, moreover, an additional burden.
past form of “chasten” — censure severely
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
an expectation
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
plural of “interest” — a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
bestow a quality on
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
in addition to what has just been said
From this reading He carried, moreover, an additional burden.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
past form of “mourn” — feel sadness
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
in a softened tone
From this reading Andy’s face held a kind of subdued gloom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
past form of “widen” — become broader or wider or more extensive
From this reading He saw him off the following morning, with a sense of widened interests.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To lend William money had almost the fine flavor of gambling.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He mourned not as those without hope, but with a chastened expectancy.
Chapter 4 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less by Jennette Lee holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less by Jennette Lee exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less by Jennette Lee on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4634 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4634, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 284 minutes of reading across 683 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less 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 Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
