Chapter 5 of Chapters from My Autobiography is here in full — 429 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 Chapters from My Autobiography is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Clemens did it." The second said, "Why, that is wonderful. How far off was that bird?" Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards." The second said, "Well, that is astonishing shooting.
Chapter 5 of Chapters from My Autobiography is here in full — 429 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.
surprising greatly
From this reading “The second said, "Well, that is astonishing shooting.”
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “How far off was that bird?"”
United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)
From this reading “"Clemens did it."”
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “The second said, "Well, that is astonishing shooting.”
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading “Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.”
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."
surprising greatly
From this reading The second said, "Well, that is astonishing shooting.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading How far off was that bird?"
United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)
From this reading "Clemens did it."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Clemens did it."
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading How far off was that bird?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How far off was that bird?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Clemens did it."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading How far off was that bird?"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading The second said, "Well, that is astonishing shooting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading How far off was that bird?"
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading The second said, "Well, that is astonishing shooting.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading The second said, "Why, that is wonderful.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading Steve said, "Oh, not far--about thirty yards."
Chapter 5 of Chapters from My Autobiography by Mark Twain holds 429 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 429 sentences of Chapters from My Autobiography, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Chapters from My Autobiography by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 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 Chapters from My Autobiography by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5069 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19987 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19987, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 422 minutes of reading across 1014 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Chapters from My Autobiography section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Chapters from My Autobiography 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 Chapters from My Autobiography, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
