Chapter 5 of The Art of Disappearing is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Art of Disappearing is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DOOR IS CLOSED. Even Martha was startled by the change in him. She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair. In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy. Martha hardly thought of them.
Chapter 5 of The Art of Disappearing is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
lacking or showing a lack of due concern
From this reading “She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.”
performance of moral or religious acts
From this reading “In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.”
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading “She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.”
past form of “mention” — make reference to
From this reading “In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.”
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading “In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.”
past form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “Even Martha was startled by the change in him.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
(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 In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
lacking or showing a lack of due concern
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading THE DOOR IS CLOSED.
performance of moral or religious acts
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE DOOR IS CLOSED.
divisible by two
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
only a very short time before
From this reading Martha hardly thought of them.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE DOOR IS CLOSED.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
past form of “mention” — make reference to
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Martha hardly thought of them.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
past form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
in the near future
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading She had hoped and prayed for it, but had not looked for it so soon, and did not expect blithe spirits after such despair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DOOR IS CLOSED.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Martha hardly thought of them.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Martha hardly thought of them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading In deep joy he poured out his soul to her all the evening, but never mentioned deeds or names in his tragedy.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Even Martha was startled by the change in him.
Chapter 5 of The Art of Disappearing by John Talbot Smith holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 135 sentences of The Art of Disappearing, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Art of Disappearing by John Talbot Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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.
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Yes. All 8152 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27925 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27925, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1631 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Art of Disappearing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Art of Disappearing 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 Art of Disappearing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
