Chapter 5 of Tales of the Jazz Age is here in full — 420 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 Tales of the Jazz Age is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter. He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee. “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother? He’s a waiter here.” “His name is Key,” annotated Rose.
Chapter 5 of Tales of the Jazz Age is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 tapering point
From this reading “There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.”
past form of “annotate” — add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments
From this reading ““His name is Key,” annotated Rose.”
run away quickly
From this reading “He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.”
praise vociferously
From this reading “There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.”
past form of “muster” — gather or bring together
From this reading “There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.”
plural of “seeker” — someone making a search or inquiry
From this reading “There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.”
with suspicion
From this reading “He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.”
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading “There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.”
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 There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
a tapering point
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
past form of “annotate” — add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments
From this reading “His name is Key,” annotated Rose.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
run away quickly
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
praise vociferously
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He’s a waiter here.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading He’s a waiter here.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “His name is Key,” annotated Rose.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “His name is Key,” annotated Rose.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
a particular point in time
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
past form of “muster” — gather or bring together
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “His name is Key,” annotated Rose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
plural of “passage” — the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading “His name is Key,” annotated Rose.
express in words
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
plural of “seeker” — someone making a search or inquiry
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
with suspicion
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading There had been three of these lightning passages before the seekers mustered the acumen to hail a waiter.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He turned, looked at them suspiciously, and then approached with soft, catlike steps, as if prepared at any moment to turn and flee.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Say,” began Key, “say, do you know my brother?
Chapter 5 of Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald holds 420 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 420 sentences of Tales of the Jazz Age, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 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 Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6148 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6695 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6695, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 512 minutes of reading across 1230 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of the Jazz Age section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Tales of the Jazz Age 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 the Jazz Age, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
