Chapter 5 of The Cuckoo Clock is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Cuckoo Clock is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PICTURES. "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!" When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing. Griselda was quite astonished. She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
Chapter 5 of The Cuckoo Clock is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
highly skilled
From this reading “She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.”
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “Griselda was quite astonished.”
rid of objects or obstructions such as e.g. trees and brush
From this reading “When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.”
a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
From this reading “When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.”
being one more than seventeen
From this reading “"And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"”
inflected form of “flap” — move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading “When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.”
plural of “picture” — a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading “PICTURES.”
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading “When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.”
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.
highly skilled
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading Griselda was quite astonished.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
rid of objects or obstructions such as e.g. trees and brush
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
being one more than seventeen
From this reading "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"
inflected form of “flap” — move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Griselda was quite astonished.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
not any; not one
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
plural of “picture” — a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading PICTURES.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Griselda was quite astonished.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "And she is always beautiful, And always is eighteen!"
deliver by singing
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had had no idea that her friend was so accomplished.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Griselda was quite astonished.
at the time that
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading When he got to the middle of the room the cuckoo cleared his throat, flapped his wings, and began to sing.
Chapter 5 of The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth holds 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 225 sentences of The Cuckoo Clock, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth 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 The Cuckoo Clock section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Cuckoo Clock 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 Cuckoo Clock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
