Chapter 5 of Cow-Country is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Cow-Country is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?” Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him. “No, sir. There's more money in cattle. I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
Chapter 5 of Cow-Country is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.”
domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
From this reading “There's more money in cattle.”
in a covert manner
From this reading “Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.”
-ing form of “eye” — look at
From this reading “Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.”
your parents
From this reading ““And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?””
participate in games or sport
From this reading ““And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?””
(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
From this reading “I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.””
plural of “tune” — a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading ““And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?””
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 Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
later than; following
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
From this reading There's more money in cattle.
in a covert manner
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
-ing form of “eye” — look at
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
your parents
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There's more money in cattle.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
engage in
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading There's more money in cattle.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There's more money in cattle.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
not any; not one
From this reading “No, sir.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
participate in games or sport
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
Identical; not different.
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Bob Birnie asked after a silence, covertly eyeing him.
term of address for a man
From this reading “No, sir.
(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's more money in cattle.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
plural of “tune” — a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading “And is it to make tunes for other folks to play?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll make my stake in the cow-country, same as you've done.”
Chapter 5 of Cow-Country by B. M. Bower holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 197 sentences of Cow-Country, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Cow-Country by B. M. Bower exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Cow-Country by B. M. Bower on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4134 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1723 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1723, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 827 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cow-Country section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Cow-Country 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 Cow-Country, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
