Chapter 5 of The Life of Nancy is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Life of Nancy is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The two aunts laughed together. "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity. "Men is boys," retorted Mrs. Martin. "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em. They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
Chapter 5 of The Life of Nancy is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 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.
plural of “aunt” — the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “The two aunts laughed together.”
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading “"Men is boys," retorted Mrs. Martin.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “"Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.”
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading “"Men is boys," retorted Mrs. Martin.”
The quality of being sagacious; keen wisdom and sound judgment. (Sự minh triết, sự sáng suốt.)
From this reading “"Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.”
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading “"Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.”
interact in a certain way
From this reading “"The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
plural of “aunt” — the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading The two aunts laughed together.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
a quad with a square body
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading The two aunts laughed together.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading "Men is boys," retorted Mrs. Martin.
the force of workers available
From this reading "Men is boys," retorted Mrs. Martin.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading "Men is boys," retorted Mrs. Martin.
The quality of being sagacious; keen wisdom and sound judgment. (Sự minh triết, sự sáng suốt.)
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
a person, without saying who
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The two aunts laughed together.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading The two aunts laughed together.
interact in a certain way
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two aunts laughed together.
the act of using
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading They always want motherin', an' somebody to come to.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Boys is boys, ain't they?" observed Mrs. Stevens, with great sagacity.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "The more you treat 'em like boys, the better they think you use 'em.
Chapter 5 of The Life of Nancy by Sarah Orne Jewett holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of The Life of Nancy, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Life of Nancy by Sarah Orne Jewett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Life of Nancy by Sarah Orne Jewett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3343 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31473 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31473, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 278 minutes of reading across 669 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Life of Nancy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Life of Nancy 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 Life of Nancy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
