Chapter 5 of My Friend Smith is here in full — 414 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 My Friend Smith is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop." That was the first I caught sight of. And the next was equally promising. "Page wanted by a professional gentleman. Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
Chapter 5 of My Friend Smith is here in full — 414 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.
free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
From this reading “Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.”
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading “And the next was equally promising.”
a boy or man
From this reading “"Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."”
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading “"Page wanted by a professional gentleman.”
engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood
From this reading “"Page wanted by a professional gentleman.”
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading “And the next was equally promising.”
do one's shopping
From this reading “"Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."”
being of use or service
From this reading “Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.”
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 "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
later than; following
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And the next was equally promising.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Page wanted by a professional gentleman.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading And the next was equally promising.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
a man of refinement
From this reading "Page wanted by a professional gentleman.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
a boy or man
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
engage in
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading And the next was equally promising.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading "Page wanted by a professional gentleman.
engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood
From this reading "Page wanted by a professional gentleman.
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading And the next was equally promising.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
do one's shopping
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
an instance of visual perception
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
being of use or service
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading "Sharp lad wanted to look after a shop."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was the first I caught sight of.
(usually of children) someone who behaves in a manner that the speaker believes is correct
From this reading Must be clean, well-behaved, and make himself useful in house.
Chapter 5 of My Friend Smith by Talbot Baines Reed holds 414 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 414 sentences of My Friend Smith, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of My Friend Smith by Talbot Baines Reed exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 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 My Friend Smith by Talbot Baines Reed on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8701 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21036 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21036, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1741 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Friend Smith section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of My Friend Smith 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 Smith, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
