Chapter 5 of So Big is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of So Big is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Selina’s cheeks matched her gown. Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them. Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box! Why had she come to this hideous party! Why had she come to High Prairie!
Chapter 5 of So Big is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions
From this reading “Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.”
atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility
From this reading “Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.”
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading “Why had she come to this hideous party!”
provided with a worthy adversary or competitor
From this reading “Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.”
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading “Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!”
a treeless grassy plain
From this reading “Why had she come to High Prairie!”
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading “Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!”
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 “Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Why had she come to this hideous party!
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions
From this reading Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!
atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading Why had she come to this hideous party!
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Why had she come to High Prairie!
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
provided with a worthy adversary or competitor
From this reading Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!
an organization to gain political power
From this reading Why had she come to this hideous party!
a treeless grassy plain
From this reading Why had she come to High Prairie!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Selina’s cheeks matched her gown.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her eyes were wide and dark with the effort she was making to force back the hot haze threatening them.
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading Why had she mounted this wretched soap-box!
Chapter 5 of So Big by Edna Ferber holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 419 sentences of So Big, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of So Big by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 So Big by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7956 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61686 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61686, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1592 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through So Big section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of So Big 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 So Big, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
