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Before Adam
Before Adam

Chapter V · Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Before Adam is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Before Adam
Context Illustration Reading 1/30 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.
I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.
On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.
On the other side was the river.
The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Before Adam

Chapter V · Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Before Adam is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/30 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.
Line 2
I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.
Line 3
On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.
Line 4
On the other side was the river.
Line 5
The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

All words in this reading · 53

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

abruptly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

as

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

bank

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

bluffs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

but

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

came

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

clear

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

down

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

earth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

edge

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

emerged

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

forest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

found

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

from

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

here

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

high

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

large

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

My

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

myself

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

occurred

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

one

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

other

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On the other side was the river.

places

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

ran

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

river

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On the other side was the river.

rose

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

run-ways

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

scene

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

several

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

side

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

slides

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

space

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I found myself on the edge of a large clear space.

steeply

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

there

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

this

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

time

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

up

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On one side of this space rose up high bluffs.

vision

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading On the other side was the river.

water

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

were

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

where

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The earth bank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in several places, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there were run-ways.

Chapter 5 of Before Adam by Jack London holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

What does chapter 5 of Before Adam contain?

Chapter 5 holds 151 sentences of Before Adam, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 5 of Before Adam by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

How do I study chapter 5 of Before Adam?

Work through the 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 31 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.

Can chapter 5 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Before Adam

Common questions about reading Before Adam by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Before Adam?

Yes. All 2488 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #310 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Before Adam is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #310, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Before Adam take to read?

About 207 minutes of reading across 498 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Before Adam section by section

How to work through Before Adam section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 18 chapters of Before Adam to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Before Adam

Words and structures a reader meets early in Before Adam, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Pictures
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Often
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Learned
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wonder
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.