Chapter V of Out of the blue, “Wrapped in Canvas,” is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter V of Out of the blue, “Wrapped in Canvas,” is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold. He lay watching, listening. He could hear the ripple of running water. He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor. The cool air was like balm on his face.
Chapter V of Out of the blue, “Wrapped in Canvas,” is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
From this reading “He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.”
any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
From this reading “The cool air was like balm on his face.”
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading “He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.”
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading “The cool air was like balm on his face.”
the first light of day
From this reading “Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “He lay watching, listening.”
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading “He could hear the ripple of running water.”
plural of “willow” — any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix
From this reading “Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.”
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 “The cool air was like balm on his face.”
In this reading “He could hear the ripple of running water.”
In this reading “The cool air was like balm on his face.”
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.
marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could hear the ripple of running water.
the first light of day
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
coins made of gold
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
of green tinged with grey
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He lay watching, listening.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading He could hear the ripple of running water.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He lay watching, listening.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading He lay watching, listening.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He could hear the ripple of running water.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The cool air was like balm on his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading He could hear the ripple of running water.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading He could hear the ripple of running water.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading He could see the bleached hills rising abrupt from the gray-green valley floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading He lay watching, listening.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading He could hear the ripple of running water.
at the time that
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
plural of “willow” — any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix
From this reading Birds twittering in the poplars and willows by the river wakened Rock when the rose-pink dawn was turning to gold.
Chapter 5 of Out of the blue by Bertrand W. Sinclair holds 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 107 sentences of Out of the blue, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Out of the blue by Bertrand W. Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 Out of the blue by Bertrand W. Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4460 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73542 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73542, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 371 minutes of reading across 892 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Out of the blue section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Out of the blue 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 Out of the blue, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
