Chapter 5 of The Bobbin Boy is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Bobbin Boy is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A MISTAKE. Stern Winter locked the streams again. A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees. The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house. The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
Chapter 5 of The Bobbin Boy is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
plural of “attraction” — the force by which one object attracts another
From this reading “The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.”
offering little or no hope
From this reading “A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.”
comparative of “merry” — full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading “The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.”
past form of “moan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.”
plural of “schoolmate” — an acquaintance that you go to school with
From this reading “The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.”
the sport of gliding on skates
From this reading “The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.”
marked by the presence of snow
From this reading “A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.”
plural of “valley” — a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.”
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 A MISTAKE.
anew
From this reading Stern Winter locked the streams again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
plural of “attraction” — the force by which one object attracts another
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
offering little or no hope
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading Stern Winter locked the streams again.
the cloak as a symbol of authority
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
comparative of “merry” — full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading A MISTAKE.
past form of “moan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
completely unclothed
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
past form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
plural of “schoolmate” — an acquaintance that you go to school with
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
the sport of gliding on skates
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
marked by the presence of snow
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading Stern Winter locked the streams again.
plural of “stream” — a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading Stern Winter locked the streams again.
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Stern Winter locked the streams again.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The skating grounds never presented more attractions to Nat and his circle of schoolmates.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
plural of “valley” — a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading The merry sleigh-bells jingled in the streets, and merrier lads and lasses filled the village school-house.
plural of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading A snowy mantle covered the hills and valleys, and the bleak winds moaned through the naked trees.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading Stern Winter locked the streams again.
Chapter 5 of The Bobbin Boy by William Makepeace Thayer holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 156 sentences of The Bobbin Boy, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Bobbin Boy by William Makepeace Thayer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Bobbin Boy by William Makepeace Thayer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3607 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19875 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19875, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 300 minutes of reading across 722 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bobbin Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Bobbin Boy 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 Bobbin Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
