Chapter 5 of The Men in the Walls is here in full — 462 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Men in the Walls is here in full — 462 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
That seemed to be worth a flicker. "My wives," said the thick voice. "They were good women. Real good women. They never let Franklin near them.
Chapter 5 of The Men in the Walls is here in full — 462 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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.
move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading “That seemed to be worth a flicker.”
United States historian noted for studies of Black American history (born in 1915)
From this reading “They never let Franklin near them.”
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading “They never let Franklin near them.”
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading “Real good women.”
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading “"My wives," said the thick voice.”
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “"My wives," said the thick voice.”
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “"They were good women.”
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading “That seemed to be worth a flicker.”
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.
In this reading “"They were good women.”
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 That seemed to be worth a flicker.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading That seemed to be worth a flicker.
move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading That seemed to be worth a flicker.
United States historian noted for studies of Black American history (born in 1915)
From this reading They never let Franklin near them.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "They were good women.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading They never let Franklin near them.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My wives," said the thick voice.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading They never let Franklin near them.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading They never let Franklin near them.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading Real good women.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "My wives," said the thick voice.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading That seemed to be worth a flicker.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That seemed to be worth a flicker.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "My wives," said the thick voice.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading They never let Franklin near them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They were good women.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading "My wives," said the thick voice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That seemed to be worth a flicker.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "My wives," said the thick voice.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "They were good women.
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "My wives," said the thick voice.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "They were good women.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading That seemed to be worth a flicker.
Chapter 5 of The Men in the Walls by William Tenn holds 462 sentences, grouped into 93 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 462 sentences of The Men in the Walls, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Men in the Walls by William Tenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 462 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 Men in the Walls by William Tenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2320 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51122 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51122, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 193 minutes of reading across 464 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Men in the Walls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Men in the Walls 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 Men in the Walls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
