Chapter 5 of Bruce is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Bruce is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful. In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive. In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church. The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater. Its vegetation was swept away.
Chapter 5 of Bruce is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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 bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano
From this reading “The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.”
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.”
the part of a scene that is near the viewer
From this reading “In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.”
so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth
From this reading “The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.”
used of paved surfaces having holes or pits
From this reading “The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.”
damaged by decay; hence unsound and useless
From this reading “In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive.”
past form of “score” — gain points in a game
From this reading “The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.”
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading “Its vegetation was swept away.”
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 In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
possessing life
From this reading In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Its vegetation was swept away.
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.
a bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
the part of a scene that is near the viewer
From this reading In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.
so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its vegetation was swept away.
an expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
on one occasion
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
used of paved surfaces having holes or pits
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
damaged by decay; hence unsound and useless
From this reading In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive.
past form of “score” — gain points in a game
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading In the foreground stood an edifice that had once been a church.
possessing sweep
From this reading Its vegetation was swept away.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the background lay a landscape that had once been beautiful.
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading Its vegetation was swept away.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading In the middle distance rotted a village that had once been alive.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The once-beautiful landscape had the look of a gigantic pockmarked face, so scored was it by shell-scar and crater.
Chapter 5 of Bruce by Albert Payson Terhune holds 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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.
Chapter 5 holds 372 sentences of Bruce, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Bruce by Albert Payson Terhune exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 Bruce by Albert Payson Terhune on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2486 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2391 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2391, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 207 minutes of reading across 498 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bruce section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Bruce 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 Bruce, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
