Chapter 5 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said. ‘Why not?’ ‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’ ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’ ‘Why?’
Chapter 5 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
anew
From this reading “‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.”
persuaded of; very sure
From this reading “‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’”
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading “‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.”
come together
From this reading “‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’”
plural of “see” — the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
From this reading “‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’”
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’”
plural of “wish” — a specific feeling of desire
From this reading “‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’”
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.
anew
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
persuaded of; very sure
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
come together
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘Why not?’
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
plural of “see” — the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
From this reading ‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading ‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading ‘As for me, I was perfectly convinced that we should meet again.’
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading ‘Why not?’
plural of “wish” — a specific feeling of desire
From this reading ‘One never sees again those whom one wishes to see.’
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘I never hoped to see you again,’ he said.
Chapter 5 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel by Arnold Bennett holds 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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 210 sentences of The Grand Babylon Hôtel, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Grand Babylon Hôtel by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4952 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2813 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2813, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 412 minutes of reading across 991 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Grand Babylon Hôtel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Grand Babylon Hôtel 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 Grand Babylon Hôtel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
