Chapter 5 of The Getting of Wisdom is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Getting of Wisdom is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You ARE a beast to stare like that!" "I'm not staring." She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern. At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on. What on earth did she cry for?
Chapter 5 of The Getting of Wisdom is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “"You ARE a beast to stare like that!"”
the cognitive process that leads to convictions
From this reading “She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.”
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading “She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.”
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “"You ARE a beast to stare like that!"”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “"I'm not staring."”
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading “At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.”
the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
From this reading “She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.”
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 "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
the cognitive process that leads to convictions
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading What on earth did she cry for?
demanding attention
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading What on earth did she cry for?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading What on earth did she cry for?
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm not staring."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I'm not staring."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
on one occasion
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading "I'm not staring."
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading At her back, Bertha's purry crying went steadily on.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the words that are spoken
From this reading She turned her eyes away at once, more than half believing her own words; and then, for some seconds, she tried to do what was expected of her: to feel a decent unconcern.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You ARE a beast to stare like that!"
Chapter 5 of The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 424 sentences of The Getting of Wisdom, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3826 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3728, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 318 minutes of reading across 766 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Getting of Wisdom section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Getting of Wisdom 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 Getting of Wisdom, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
