Chapter 5 of The Able McLaughlins is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Able McLaughlins is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful. You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one. He had tried that once, and learned his lesson. He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do. After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
Chapter 5 of The Able McLaughlins is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 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 outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading “He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.”
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading “After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.”
characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation
From this reading “You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.”
an instinctive motive
From this reading “His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.”
a unit of instruction
From this reading “He had tried that once, and learned his lesson.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.”
showing curiosity
From this reading “He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.”
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.
In this reading “After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.”
In this reading “He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.”
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 After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
later than; following
From this reading After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
exercising caution or showing care or attention
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had tried that once, and learned his lesson.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
an instinctive motive
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading He had tried that once, and learned his lesson.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
a unit of instruction
From this reading He had tried that once, and learned his lesson.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
on one occasion
From this reading He had tried that once, and learned his lesson.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading After a few seconds he peered around cautiously.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
carry out
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He had tried that once, and learned his lesson.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His impulse was to run and take her in his arms, but he knew now that he must be careful.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
in the company of; together with
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
showing curiosity
From this reading He slipped behind the barn, and stood wondering what to do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You can’t be impetuous, it seems, with women, at least not with that one.
Chapter 5 of The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson holds 345 sentences, grouped into 69 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 345 sentences of The Able McLaughlins, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 345 sentences, grouped into 69 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 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 69 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 Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4956 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59845 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59845, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 413 minutes of reading across 992 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Able McLaughlins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Able McLaughlins 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 Able McLaughlins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
