Chapter 4 of Under Fire For Servia is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Under Fire For Servia is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE REFUGE There was no time to debate. Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best. The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window. Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below. A moment more, and he was beside him.
Chapter 4 of Under Fire For Servia is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
argue with one another
From this reading “THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.”
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading “Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.”
someone who is a detective
From this reading “Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.”
of an obscure nature
From this reading “The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.”
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading “Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.”
a safe place
From this reading “THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.”
done under pressure
From this reading “Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.”
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.
a bed in which flowers are growing
In this reading “Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.”
In this reading “Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.”
In this reading “The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.”
In this reading “The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.”
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 Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
next to; at the side of
From this reading A moment more, and he was beside him.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
a youthful male person
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
argue with one another
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
someone who is a detective
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
a particular point in time
From this reading A moment more, and he was beside him.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
of an obscure nature
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
not any; not one
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
above and across; more than
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
a safe place
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
done under pressure
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
cut with a saw
From this reading Dick rushed over, and saw him land in a flower bed below.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
in or at that place or location
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE REFUGE There was no time to debate.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The mysterious boy was already half way out of the window.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Dick heard the policemen at the door and he knew that it would not delay them for more than a minute, at best.
Chapter 4 of Under Fire For Servia by James Fiske holds 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 160 sentences of Under Fire For Servia, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Under Fire For Servia by James Fiske exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Under Fire For Servia by James Fiske on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3085 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33480 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33480, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 257 minutes of reading across 617 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under Fire For Servia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Under Fire For Servia 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 Under Fire For Servia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
