Chapter 4 of Weighed and Wanting is here in full — 433 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 Weighed and Wanting is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE AQUARIUM. "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius. "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father. "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly. "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
Chapter 4 of Weighed and Wanting is here in full — 433 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.
a tank or pool or bowl filled with water for keeping live fish and underwater animals
From this reading “THE AQUARIUM.”
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “"The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.”
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading “"No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.”
plural of “fish” — any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading “"Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “"Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.”
in a stupid manner
From this reading “"No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “"The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.”
close enough to be walked to
From this reading “"The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
a tank or pool or bowl filled with water for keeping live fish and underwater animals
From this reading THE AQUARIUM.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
a young person of either sex
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
plural of “fish” — any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Let's go and see the people at the aquarium," said Cornelius.
in a stupid manner
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE AQUARIUM.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "No, I don't care about them; I said the people," answered Cornelius stupidly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "The people of an aquarium must surely be fishes, eh, Saffy?" said the father to the bright child, walking hand in hand with him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Do you mean the fishes?" asked his father.
Chapter 4 of Weighed and Wanting by George MacDonald holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 433 sentences of Weighed and Wanting, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Weighed and Wanting by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 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 Weighed and Wanting by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7590 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9096 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9096, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1518 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Weighed and Wanting section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Weighed and Wanting 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 Weighed and Wanting, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
