Chapter 5 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self. “Prison. That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart. A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself. It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
Chapter 5 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “desert” — arid land with little or no vegetation
From this reading “It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.”
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading “That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.”
plural of “grind” — an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious
From this reading “That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.”
plural of “hermit” — one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading “It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.”
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading ““Prison.”
pierce with many holes
From this reading “A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.”
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading “He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.”
past form of “wall” — surround with a wall in order to fortify
From this reading “A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.”
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 “It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.”
In this reading “He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.”
investigate scientifically
In this reading “He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.”
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 into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
plural of “desert” — arid land with little or no vegetation
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
plural of “grind” — an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
plural of “hermit” — one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading “Prison.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
pierce with many holes
From this reading A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
express in speech
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is an experience that grinds the folly out of the heart.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
a special situation
From this reading A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading It made me learn to understand those old hermits in the deserts.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.
precisely as stated
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
past form of “wall” — surround with a wall in order to fortify
From this reading A man is walled up with that strange riddle of a thing—himself.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He looked into the distance with the air of a man ready to speak of his very self.
Chapter 5 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of Mad Barbara, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6545 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50995 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50995, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 545 minutes of reading across 1309 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mad Barbara section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Mad Barbara 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 Mad Barbara, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
