Chapter 5 of Short Stories. Early October, 1923 is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Short Stories. Early October, 1923 is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful. His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin. He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather. "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud. "I feel like I'd been corroded."
Chapter 5 of Short Stories. Early October, 1923 is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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 act of waking
From this reading “A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.”
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading “A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.”
eaten away as by acid or oxidation
From this reading “"I feel like I'd been corroded."”
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
From this reading “A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.”
the concentration of attention or energy on something
From this reading “His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.”
a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity; used to indicate the force to which a body is subjected when it is accelerated
From this reading “"Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.”
filled or abounding with fog or mist
From this reading “His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.”
make moist
From this reading “He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.”
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.
a cabin built with logs
In this reading “His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.”
In this reading “His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.”
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 A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
the act of waking
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
a partially opened flower
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
the overhead upper surface of a covered space
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
eaten away as by acid or oxidation
From this reading "I feel like I'd been corroded."
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading "I feel like I'd been corroded."
the concentration of attention or energy on something
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity; used to indicate the force to which a body is subjected when it is accelerated
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
filled or abounding with fog or mist
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I feel like I'd been corroded."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
enter into a log, as on ships and planes
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
make moist
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Gee cripes, I must 'a' been awful drunk," he said aloud.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading His mind was hazy and his eyes seemed badly out of focus, as he stared up at the ceiling of the log cabin.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A CAPTIVE COWBOY Bud Conley's awakening was painful.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He tried to moisten his lips with his tongue, but it was like leather against leather.
Chapter 5 of Short Stories. Early October, 1923 by Various holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 142 sentences of Short Stories. Early October, 1923, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Short Stories. Early October, 1923 by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Short Stories. Early October, 1923, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
