Chapter 5 of Poor Man's Rock is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Poor Man's Rock is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more. He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself. But the fighting was over. The Germans were whipped. That had been the goal.
Chapter 5 of Poor Man's Rock is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
the lower side of anything
From this reading “From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.”
a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
From this reading “From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.”
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
From this reading “But the fighting was over.”
plural of “german” — a person of German nationality
From this reading “The Germans were whipped.”
the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it
From this reading “That had been the goal.”
the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
From this reading “He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.”
inflected form of “whip” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading “The Germans were whipped.”
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 From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading That had been the goal.
the lower side of anything
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
From this reading But the fighting was over.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
set up or found
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
plural of “german” — a person of German nationality
From this reading The Germans were whipped.
the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it
From this reading That had been the goal.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading That had been the goal.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
on one occasion
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
above and across; more than
From this reading But the fighting was over.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That had been the goal.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
up to a particular time
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading From the Bottom Up MacRae did nothing but mark time until he found himself a plain citizen once more.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But the fighting was over.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Germans were whipped.
inflected form of “whip” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading The Germans were whipped.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He could have remained in the service for months without risk and with much profit to himself.
Chapter 5 of Poor Man's Rock by Bertrand W. Sinclair holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 159 sentences of Poor Man's Rock, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Poor Man's Rock by Bertrand W. Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Poor Man's Rock by Bertrand W. Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6386 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16541 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16541, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 532 minutes of reading across 1278 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poor Man's Rock section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Poor Man's Rock 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 Poor Man's Rock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
