Chapter 5 of Dusty answer is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Dusty answer is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing. ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’ ‘Mariella?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
Chapter 5 of Dusty answer is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
third-person singular of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’”
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading “He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
unpleasantly stern
From this reading “He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices
From this reading “‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?”
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading “He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading “He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading “He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
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 looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.”
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 He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
later than; following
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
anew
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
third-person singular of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
a youthful male person
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
the act of departing
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
unpleasantly stern
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Mariella?’
using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
(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 ‘Well--it’s more or less mechanical, with a boy, isn’t it?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ‘What, one asks oneself, is she going to do about him?’
during the time that
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He looked down at the leaning head on his shoulder with a sort of harsh tenderness; and after a while he spoke again as if out of a deep musing.
an affirmative
From this reading ‘Yes.’
Chapter 5 of Dusty answer by Rosamond Lehmann holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Dusty answer, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Dusty answer by Rosamond Lehmann exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Dusty answer by Rosamond Lehmann on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9266 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72642 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72642, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dusty answer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Dusty answer 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 Dusty answer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
