Chapter 5 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 403 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 Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.” “He may be,” returned Zani Chada. “I hate him, but he is a man. Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent. Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
Chapter 5 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 403 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.
past form of “arrest” — take into custody
From this reading “Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.””
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading ““He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.””
past form of “consent” — give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to
From this reading “Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.”
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.”
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading ““I hate him, but he is a man.”
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading ““He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.””
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.””
marked by absence of sound
From this reading ““He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.””
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 “I hate him, but he is a man.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
past form of “arrest” — take into custody
From this reading Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “I hate him, but he is a man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He may be,” returned Zani Chada.
past form of “consent” — give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “I hate him, but he is a man.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “I hate him, but he is a man.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I hate him, but he is a man.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I hate him, but he is a man.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “I hate him, but he is a man.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading “He may be,” returned Zani Chada.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
on one occasion
From this reading Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “He may be,” returned Zani Chada.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “He will be silent at the price of the boy's life.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Once you are arrested, nothing would silence him.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Had you escaped, he might have consented to be silent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He may be,” returned Zani Chada.
Chapter 5 of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of Tales of Chinatown, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 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 Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5212 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5697 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5697, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 434 minutes of reading across 1043 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of Chinatown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Tales of Chinatown 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 Tales of Chinatown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
