Chapter 5 of The Abandoned Farmer is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Abandoned Farmer is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Could you hear what they said?" Meldrum laughed derisively. "Hear?" he repeated. "_Hear!_ Great Scott! If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
Chapter 5 of The Abandoned Farmer is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
in a disrespectful and mocking manner
From this reading “Meldrum laughed derisively.”
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.”
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “Meldrum laughed derisively.”
plural of “press” — the state of demanding notice or attention
From this reading “If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.”
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading “If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.”
recurring again and again
From this reading “"Hear?" he repeated.”
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading “If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.”
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading “"_Hear!_ Great Scott!”
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.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "Could you hear what they said?"
in a disrespectful and mocking manner
From this reading Meldrum laughed derisively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "_Hear!_ Great Scott!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Hear?" he repeated.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Could you hear what they said?"
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Meldrum laughed derisively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Meldrum laughed derisively.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
plural of “press” — the state of demanding notice or attention
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
recurring again and again
From this reading "Hear?" he repeated.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Could you hear what they said?"
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading "_Hear!_ Great Scott!
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Could you hear what they said?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Could you hear what they said?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If the presses hadn't been running some idiot on the street would have pulled the fire-alarm, sure.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Could you hear what they said?"
Chapter 5 of The Abandoned Farmer by Sydney Herman Preston holds 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 455 sentences of The Abandoned Farmer, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Abandoned Farmer by Sydney Herman Preston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 The Abandoned Farmer by Sydney Herman Preston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2302 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48453 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48453, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 191 minutes of reading across 461 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Abandoned Farmer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Abandoned Farmer 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 The Abandoned Farmer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
