Chapter 5 of My Friend Prospero is here in full — 400 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 My Friend Prospero is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain. "Weren't her investigations fruitful?" "Not very," said he. "She learnt little beyond her name and age." "And what _is_ her name?" asked the lady.
Chapter 5 of My Friend Prospero is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
how long something has existed
From this reading “"She learnt little beyond her name and age."”
on the far side of; further than
From this reading “"She learnt little beyond her name and age."”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “"But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.”
productive or conducive to producing in abundance
From this reading “"Weren't her investigations fruitful?"”
plural of “investigation” — an inquiry into unfamiliar or questionable activities
From this reading “"Weren't her investigations fruitful?"”
inflected form of “learn” — gain knowledge or skills
From this reading “"She learnt little beyond her name and age."”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “"She learnt little beyond her name and age."”
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading “"But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.”
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.
how long something has existed
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "And what _is_ her name?" asked the lady.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
productive or conducive to producing in abundance
From this reading "Weren't her investigations fruitful?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Not very," said he.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Weren't her investigations fruitful?"
plural of “investigation” — an inquiry into unfamiliar or questionable activities
From this reading "Weren't her investigations fruitful?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And what _is_ her name?" asked the lady.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
inflected form of “learn” — gain knowledge or skills
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not very," said he.
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She learnt little beyond her name and age."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "And what _is_ her name?" asked the lady.
precisely as stated
From this reading "Not very," said he.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Weren't her investigations fruitful?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "And what _is_ her name?" asked the lady.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But your private detective?" said Lady Blanchemain.
Chapter 5 of My Friend Prospero by Henry Harland holds 400 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 400 sentences of My Friend Prospero, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of My Friend Prospero by Henry Harland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 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 My Friend Prospero by Henry Harland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3659 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14682 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14682, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 304 minutes of reading across 732 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Friend Prospero section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of My Friend Prospero 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 My Friend Prospero, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
