Chapter 5 of A Lively Bit of the Front is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of A Lively Bit of the Front is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice. "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again." The men recognized the voice. "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd. Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
Chapter 5 of A Lively Bit of the Front is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 long trough for feeding cattle
From this reading “"It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."”
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading “Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.”
be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
From this reading “Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.”
a chaplain in one of the military services
From this reading “"It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."”
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading “The men recognized the voice.”
inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light
From this reading “Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.”
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.
In this reading “"Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.”
In this reading “Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.”
In this reading “Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.”
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 Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
anew
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
a long trough for feeding cattle
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
the force of workers available
From this reading The men recognized the voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
and nothing more
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
a chaplain in one of the military services
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading The men recognized the voice.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Someone struck a match, and held it so that the feeble glimmer shone upon his face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "It's only the Padre fallen out of his bunk again."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "Good old Padre!" they shouted, and then silence fell upon the crowd.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Broken down in Mid-ocean "It's all right, boys!" came a deep voice.
Chapter 5 of A Lively Bit of the Front by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 5 holds 110 sentences of A Lively Bit of the Front, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of A Lively Bit of the Front by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 5 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 A Lively Bit of the Front by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4302 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40073 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40073, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 358 minutes of reading across 861 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Lively Bit of the Front section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of A Lively Bit of the Front 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 A Lively Bit of the Front, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
