Chapter 5 of Bliss, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Bliss, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice: There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town . It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
Chapter 5 of Bliss, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
plural of “fog” — droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading “It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.”
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading “Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:”
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 “Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:”
In this reading “Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft 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 Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
(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 It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
plural of “fog” — droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
held dear
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
a short musical composition with words
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading It seemed to hold, in its gravity and muffled measure, all those tall grey buildings, those fogs, those endless streets, those sharp shadows of policemen that mean England.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a man Walked up and down To get a dinner in the town .
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Ah! how I loved that song, and how I loved the way he sang it, slowly, slowly, in a dark, soft voice:
Chapter 5 of Bliss, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of Bliss, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Bliss, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Bliss, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6345 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44385 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44385, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 528 minutes of reading across 1269 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bliss, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Bliss, and Other Stories 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 Bliss, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
