Chapter 5 of The Illiterate Digest is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Illiterate Digest is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach? MR. BENNETT Why, Senator Curtis. SENATOR HEFLIN Curses on the Luck. I thought it was Coolidge.
Chapter 5 of The Illiterate Digest is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
United States aviator who (with Richard E. Byrd) piloted the first flight over the North Pole (1890-1928)
From this reading “Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?”
elected vice president and succeeded as 30th President of the United States when Harding died in 1923 (1872-1933)
From this reading “I thought it was Coolidge.”
plural of “curse” — profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “SENATOR HEFLIN Curses on the Luck.”
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading “BENNETT Why, Senator Curtis.”
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?”
inflected form of “refer” — make reference to
From this reading “Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?”
a member of a senate
From this reading “BENNETT Why, Senator Curtis.”
plural of “wire” — ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
United States aviator who (with Richard E. Byrd) piloted the first flight over the North Pole (1890-1928)
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
elected vice president and succeeded as 30th President of the United States when Harding died in 1923 (1872-1933)
From this reading I thought it was Coolidge.
plural of “curse” — profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading SENATOR HEFLIN Curses on the Luck.
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading BENNETT Why, Senator Curtis.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SENATOR HEFLIN Curses on the Luck.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I thought it was Coolidge.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading SENATOR HEFLIN Curses on the Luck.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading SENATOR HEFLIN Curses on the Luck.
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
inflected form of “refer” — make reference to
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
a member of a senate
From this reading BENNETT Why, Senator Curtis.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought it was Coolidge.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
which person or people
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading BENNETT Why, Senator Curtis.
plural of “wire” — ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Now Mr. Bennett who was it that you referred to as the Principal in those wires to Palm Beach?
Chapter 5 of The Illiterate Digest by Will Rogers holds 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 446 sentences of The Illiterate Digest, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Illiterate Digest by Will Rogers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Illiterate Digest by Will Rogers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2657 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72717 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72717, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 221 minutes of reading across 532 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Illiterate Digest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Illiterate Digest 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 Illiterate Digest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
