Chapter 5 of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And now Buck used his right hand. But quick as he was, he was late. Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster. "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas. There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
Chapter 5 of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.”
to strive with determination
From this reading “And now Buck used his right hand.”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading “Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.”
a sheath (usually leather) for carrying a handgun
From this reading “Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.”
inflected form of “lag” — hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.
From this reading “Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.”
the second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of Mexico
From this reading “"I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.”
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading “There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.”
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading “Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.”
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 "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
anew
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But quick as he was, he was late.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
to strive with determination
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But quick as he was, he was late.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But quick as he was, he was late.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
a sheath (usually leather) for carrying a handgun
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
inflected form of “lag” — hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading But quick as he was, he was late.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
the character of the positive electric pole
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading But quick as he was, he was late.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
precisely, exactly
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
the second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of Mexico
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm goin' to be a man again," said Texas.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading And now Buck used his right hand.
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading There was a positiveness in his voice that awoke thoughts of death and violence.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But quick as he was, he was late.
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
during the time that
From this reading Rankin's gun gaped at him across the table the while his own weapon lagged tardily half-way in its holster.
Chapter 5 of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best by Various holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 398 sentences of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Golden Stories A Selection of the Best by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5618 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19356 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19356, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 468 minutes of reading across 1124 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Golden Stories A Selection of the Best section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Golden Stories A Selection of the Best 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 Golden Stories A Selection of the Best, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
