Chapter 5 of Soldier Stories is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Soldier Stories is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A very long pause. 'Well?' said I. ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh. 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness. That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
Chapter 5 of Soldier Stories is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading “''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.”
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading “'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.”
by chance
From this reading “That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.”
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading “That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “A very long pause.”
plural of “pint” — a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters
From this reading “That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.”
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading “That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.”
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.”
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 very long pause.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
the eleventh month of the civil year; the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar (in July and August)
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Well?' said I.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading A very long pause.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
by chance
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading A very long pause.
plural of “pint” — a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Well?' said I.
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading That night I tuk maybe the half av three pints--not enough to turn the hair of a man in his natural senses.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
the local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England; it is the same everywhere
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
precisely as stated
From this reading A very long pause.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'An' I know that ev'ry bit av ut was my own foolishness.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'Well?' said I.
in the company of; together with
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading ''Twas all wrong,' said Mulvaney, with an enormous sigh.
Chapter 5 of Soldier Stories by Rudyard Kipling holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Soldier Stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Soldier Stories by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Soldier Stories by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2853 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28537 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28537, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 237 minutes of reading across 571 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Soldier Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Soldier Stories 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 Soldier Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
