Chapter 5 of Ten minute stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Ten minute stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter. Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning. I finished it. I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all: “..._and my worship_.”
Chapter 5 of Ten minute stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading “Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.”
a blemish made by dirt
From this reading “I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:”
publicly displayed
From this reading “Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.”
feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
From this reading “I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.”
inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
From this reading “I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:”
a smoky fire to drive away insects
From this reading “I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:”
not brought to the desired final state
From this reading “I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.”
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.”
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.
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 posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
(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 I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
a blemish made by dirt
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
of short duration or distance
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading I finished it.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
low or inferior in station or quality
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
and nothing more
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
publicly displayed
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
a smoky fire to drive away insects
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
not brought to the desired final state
From this reading I sat down, humble, reverent, but incommunicably proud and happy, to my unfinished letter.
except if; if not
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
at the time that
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol
From this reading “..._and my worship_.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Unless I posted it immediately she would not get it when she woke upon her birthday morning.
the act of creating written works
From this reading I posted it just as it was--brief, the writing a little shaky, the paper cheap, blot, smudge, and all:
Chapter 5 of Ten minute stories by Algernon Blackwood holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of Ten minute stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Ten minute stories by Algernon Blackwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Ten minute stories by Algernon Blackwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ten minute stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Ten minute 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 Ten minute stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
