Chapter 4 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think. But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined! He has taken in you and everybody else. The villain broke yesterday. He is off!
Chapter 4 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
lacking funds
From this reading “The villain broke yesterday.”
give a description of
From this reading “He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.”
English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997)
From this reading “But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!”
every person
From this reading “He has taken in you and everybody else.”
not one and not the other of two
From this reading “He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.”
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading “But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “The villain broke yesterday.”
the day immediately before today
From this reading “The villain broke yesterday.”
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.
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 He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
lacking funds
From this reading The villain broke yesterday.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
any plant of the genus Canna having large sheathing leaves and clusters of large showy flowers
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
give a description of
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997)
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He has taken in you and everybody else.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
every person
From this reading He has taken in you and everybody else.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He has taken in you and everybody else.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He is off!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He is off!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading He has taken in you and everybody else.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The villain broke yesterday.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading The villain broke yesterday.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He left me in a state that I canna describe; I neither kenned what to do nor what to think.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading But within half an hour he returned, and he cried out as he entered--'Diana, ye are ruined!
the day immediately before today
From this reading The villain broke yesterday.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He has taken in you and everybody else.
Chapter 4 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3747 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29030 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29030, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 312 minutes of reading across 750 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06 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 Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
