Chapter 5 of The Shadow of a Man is here in full — 475 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Shadow of a Man is here in full — 475 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Tell me," demanded Moya. "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson. Our friend Spicer. Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police. Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
Chapter 5 of The Shadow of a Man is here in full — 475 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/95 · 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.
stimulating or exalting to the spirit
From this reading “Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.”
a unit of instruction
From this reading “"Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.”
violating or tending to violate or offend against
From this reading “Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.”
plural of “pine” — a coniferous tree
From this reading “Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."”
plural of “praise” — an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading “"Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.”
comparative of “spic” — completely neat and clean
From this reading “Our friend Spicer.”
past form of “surpass” — distinguish oneself
From this reading “Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."”
the profession of a teacher
From this reading “"Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.”
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.
leave
In this reading “Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."”
In this reading “Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."”
In this reading “Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.”
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 "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Tell me," demanded Moya.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Our friend Spicer.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
stimulating or exalting to the spirit
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
and nothing more
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
a unit of instruction
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Tell me," demanded Moya.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Tell me," demanded Moya.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
not any; not one
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
violating or tending to violate or offend against
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our friend Spicer.
plural of “pine” — a coniferous tree
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
plural of “praise” — an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
comparative of “spic” — completely neat and clean
From this reading Our friend Spicer.
past form of “surpass” — distinguish oneself
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
carry out
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
the profession of a teacher
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
express in words
From this reading "Tell me," demanded Moya.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
precisely as stated
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Very offensive to me all day; seemed to think I was inspiring the police.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Just now he surpassed himself; wanted me to take off my coat and go behind the pines; in other words to fight."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading "Well, if you want to know, I've been teaching one of your back-blockers (yours no more, praises be!) a bit of a lesson.
Chapter 5 of The Shadow of a Man by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung holds 475 sentences, grouped into 95 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 475 sentences of The Shadow of a Man, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Shadow of a Man by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 475 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 Shadow of a Man by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2738 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33651 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33651, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 228 minutes of reading across 548 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Shadow of a Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Shadow of a Man 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 Shadow of a Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
