Chapter 3 of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
II. THE BLUEBELL. 1. There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2. A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
Chapter 3 of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader is here in full — 396 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.
sometimes placed in genus Scilla
From this reading “THE BLUEBELL.”
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading “A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;”
to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;”
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading “There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.”
a deep narrow steep-sided valley (especially one formed by running water)
From this reading “A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;”
a gap between cloud masses
From this reading “A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;”
of the highest quality
From this reading “A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;”
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading “A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
sometimes placed in genus Scilla
From this reading THE BLUEBELL.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading II.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
throughout a period of time
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
a deep narrow steep-sided valley (especially one formed by running water)
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
a gap between cloud masses
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BLUEBELL.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
of the highest quality
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
in the company of; together with
From this reading A story of a dim ravine, O'er which the towering tree tops lean, With one blue rift of sky between;
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading There is a story I have heard-- A poet learned it of a bird, And kept its music every word-- 2.
Chapter 3 of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader by William Holmes McGuffey holds 396 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 3 holds 396 sentences of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader by William Holmes McGuffey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 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 3 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 McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader by William Holmes McGuffey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7800 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15040 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15040, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1560 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader 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 McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
