Chapter 5 of Sara Crewe is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Sara Crewe is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened. Then he spoke nervously and excitedly: “That's an old story,” he said. “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad. It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
Chapter 5 of Sara Crewe is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading ““It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.”
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading “Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:”
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading ““It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.”
have in mind as a purpose
From this reading ““It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.”
someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury
From this reading “She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.”
a mistake in calculating
From this reading “It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.””
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading “Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:”
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.”
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 It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “That's an old story,” he said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:
made afraid
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
come to pass
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
have in mind as a purpose
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
a mistake in calculating
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “That's an old story,” he said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “That's an old story,” he said.
cut with a saw
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
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 “That's an old story,” he said.
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That's an old story,” he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She saw the invalid start--the strangest start--as if he had been suddenly frightened.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he spoke nervously and excitedly:
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading It may happen through a mistake--a miscalculation; they may not be so bad.”
which person or people
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading “It happens every day; but sometimes those who are blamed--those who do the wrong--don't intend it, and are not so bad.
Chapter 5 of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett holds 189 sentences, grouped into 38 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 189 sentences of Sara Crewe, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 950 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #137 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #137, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 79 minutes of reading across 190 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sara Crewe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Sara Crewe 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 Sara Crewe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
