Chapter 5 of An Act in a Backwater is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of An Act in a Backwater is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford. “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham. We have so many factors in our little world. It is quite a miniature capital. There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
Chapter 5 of An Act in a Backwater is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
plural of “advantage” — the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading ““That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.”
assets available for use in the production of further assets
From this reading “It is quite a miniature capital.”
(United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government
From this reading “There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.””
plural of “factor” — anything that contributes causally to a result
From this reading “We have so many factors in our little world.”
a fortified military post where troops are stationed
From this reading “There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.””
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading ““A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.”
painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)
From this reading “It is quite a miniature capital.”
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading ““A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.”
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 ““That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.”
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 “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
plural of “advantage” — the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
assets available for use in the production of further assets
From this reading It is quite a miniature capital.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
(United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government
From this reading There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
plural of “factor” — anything that contributes causally to a result
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
a fortified military post where troops are stationed
From this reading There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)
From this reading It is quite a miniature capital.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading It is quite a miniature capital.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading “A little military society is so pleasant, is it not?” said Miss Clifford.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading There is the close, there is the town, there is the garrison, and there is the county.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading We have so many factors in our little world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “That you will find is one of the great advantages of Wroxton, Miss Avesham.
Chapter 5 of An Act in a Backwater by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 178 sentences of An Act in a Backwater, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of An Act in a Backwater by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 An Act in a Backwater by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3930 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56465 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56465, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 327 minutes of reading across 786 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An Act in a Backwater section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of An Act in a Backwater 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 An Act in a Backwater, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
