Chapter 5 of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE OLD CLERK. WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers. "Reardon," said his employer, sharply. "I am afraid you are getting careless. Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
Chapter 5 of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
in actual fact
From this reading “WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.”
marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful
From this reading “"I am afraid you are getting careless.”
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “THE OLD CLERK.”
a person or firm that employs workers
From this reading “"Reardon," said his employer, sharply.”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.”
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; traditionally considered to be the author of the first Gospel
From this reading “WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.”
in an aggressive manner
From this reading “"Reardon," said his employer, sharply.”
the act of creating written works
From this reading “Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."”
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.
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 WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading THE OLD CLERK.
a person or firm that employs workers
From this reading "Reardon," said his employer, sharply.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
destroyed or killed
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; traditionally considered to be the author of the first Gospel
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE OLD CLERK.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
go across or through
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Reardon," said his employer, sharply.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Reardon," said his employer, sharply.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading "Reardon," said his employer, sharply.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
carry out
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE OLD CLERK.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
precisely as stated
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
at the time that
From this reading WHAT Matthew had feared, actually came to pass one morning not very long afterwards, when he had gone as usual to take back his papers.
the act of creating written works
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I am afraid you are getting careless.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your writing is not nearly so good as it used to be."
Chapter 5 of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door by Mrs. Coates holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 79 sentences of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door by Mrs. Coates exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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.
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Yes. All 1318 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74108 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74108, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 109 minutes of reading across 264 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door 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 How little Bessie kept the wolf from the door, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
