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The Importance of
The Importance of

Chapter V · Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of The Importance of is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Importance of
Context Illustration Reading 1/59 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
ALGERNON.
But why on earth did you break it off?
What had I done?
I had done nothing at all.
Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Importance of

Chapter V · Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of The Importance of is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/59 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
ALGERNON.
Line 2
But why on earth did you break it off?
Line 3
What had I done?
Line 4
I had done nothing at all.
Line 5
Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

All words in this reading · 26

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.

ALGERNON

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading ALGERNON.

all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had done nothing at all.

am

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had done nothing at all.

break

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

broke

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

But

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

Cecily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

did

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

done

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What had I done?

earth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What had I done?

hear

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

hurt

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What had I done?

indeed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

it

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

much

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

nothing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had done nothing at all.

off

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

very

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Cecily, I am very much hurt indeed to hear you broke it off.

What

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What had I done?

why

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

you

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But why on earth did you break it off?

Chapter 5 of The Importance of by Oscar Wilde holds 299 sentences, grouped into 60 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.

What does chapter 5 of The Importance of contain?

Chapter 5 holds 299 sentences of The Importance of, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 5 of The Importance of by Oscar Wilde exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 299 sentences, grouped into 60 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.

How do I study chapter 5 of The Importance of?

Work through the 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 60 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.

Can chapter 5 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Importance of

Common questions about reading The Importance of by Oscar Wilde on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Importance of?

Yes. All 1822 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #844 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Importance of is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #844, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Importance of take to read?

About 151 minutes of reading across 365 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Importance of section by section

How to work through The Importance of section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Importance of to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Importance of

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Importance of, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Gwendolen
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Importance of; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Christened
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Importance of; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Married
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Importance of; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Worthing
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Importance of; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.