Chapter 4 of While the Billy Boils is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of While the Billy Boils is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I thought awhile. “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said. “He said something, didn't he?” “Yes; said it was a fine day. You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
Chapter 4 of While the Billy Boils is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
for a short time
From this reading “I thought awhile.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.””
marked for certain death
From this reading “You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.””
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading ““Yes; said it was a fine day.”
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading “You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.””
apprehended with certainty
From this reading “You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.””
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading ““I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading ““I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.”
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 “Yes; said it was a fine day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
for a short time
From this reading I thought awhile.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading “Yes; said it was a fine day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
marked for certain death
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “Yes; said it was a fine day.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He said something, didn't he?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I thought awhile.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Yes; said it was a fine day.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
immediately past
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
express in words
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
a thing, without saying which
From this reading “He said something, didn't he?”
carry out
From this reading “I didn't take any particular notice of him,” I said.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought awhile.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Yes; said it was a fine day.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
the words that are spoken
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes; said it was a fine day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You'd have taken more notice if you'd known that he was doomed to die in the hour, and that those were the last words he would say to any man in this world.”
Chapter 4 of While the Billy Boils by Henry Lawson holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 440 sentences of While the Billy Boils, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of While the Billy Boils by Henry Lawson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 While the Billy Boils by Henry Lawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4712 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7144, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 943 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through While the Billy Boils section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of While the Billy Boils 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 While the Billy Boils, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
