Chapter 5 of Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished is here in full — 428 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 Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room. "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!" "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones. "Mariar!" "Well, dear."
Chapter 5 of Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished is here in full — 428 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.
-ing form of “adjoin” — lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading “"Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.”
-ing form of “attempt” — make an effort or attempt
From this reading “"She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"”
spoken with emphasis
From this reading “"The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.”
a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance)
From this reading “"Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.”
battles in World War II in the Pacific (November 1943); United States Marines took the islands from the Japanese after bitter fighting
From this reading “"She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"”
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading “"Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “"Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.”
a series of chirps
From this reading “"Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.”
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.
in actual fact
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
-ing form of “adjoin” — lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
disposed to please
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
-ing form of “attempt” — make an effort or attempt
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.
a special loved one
From this reading "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.
dearly loved
From this reading "Well, dear."
spoken with emphasis
From this reading "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance)
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
the sound of laughing
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
battles in World War II in the Pacific (November 1943); United States Marines took the islands from the Japanese after bitter fighting
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
in a vehement outcry
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading "The darling!" came from the next room, in emphatic tones.
a series of chirps
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
(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, dear."
which person or people
From this reading "Mariar!" shouted Mr Twitter to his amiable spouse, who was finishing her toilet in the adjoining room.
an affirmative
From this reading "She's makin' faces at me--yes, she's actually attempting to laugh!"
Chapter 5 of Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne holds 428 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 428 sentences of Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 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 Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4636 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21729 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21729, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 386 minutes of reading across 928 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished 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 Diamonds Cut and Polished, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
