Chapter 5 of Chains is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Chains is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Wait! Cavanaugh’s outside!” This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner. He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate. “To hell with Cavanaugh!
Chapter 5 of Chains is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 place off to the side of an area
From this reading “This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.”
-ing form of “cower” — crouch or curl up
From this reading “This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.”
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading “He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.”
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading “He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading ““To hell with Cavanaugh!”
possessive form of “superior” — one of greater rank or station or quality
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading “He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.”
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 “He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.”
In this reading “This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.”
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 This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “To hell with Cavanaugh!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cavanaugh’s outside!”
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
-ing form of “cower” — crouch or curl up
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “To hell with Cavanaugh!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Cavanaugh’s outside!”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
possessive form of “superior” — one of greater rank or station or quality
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “To hell with Cavanaugh!
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading He was so fearful that he was entirely unconscious of his superior’s fate.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Wait!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
which person or people
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “To hell with Cavanaugh!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading This from some one—not McGlathery, you may be sure, who was cowering in a corner.
Chapter 5 of Chains by Theodore Dreiser holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 426 sentences of Chains, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Chains by Theodore Dreiser exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Chains by Theodore Dreiser on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7555 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72326 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72326, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1511 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Chains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Chains 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 Chains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
