Chapter 5 of The Story of an African Farm is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Story of an African Farm is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Service No. I. The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up. Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh. He looked down at his book. On its page a black insect crept.
Chapter 5 of The Story of an African Farm is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “On its page a black insect crept.”
small air-breathing arthropod
From this reading “On its page a black insect crept.”
plural of “page” — one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading “The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.”
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading “Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.”
a very small spot
From this reading “Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.”
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading “Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.”
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.”
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 Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He looked down at his book.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading On its page a black insect crept.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading On its page a black insect crept.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He looked down at his book.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
to or in any or all places
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
recently made, produced, or harvested
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked down at his book.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Service No. I.
small air-breathing arthropod
From this reading On its page a black insect crept.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading On its page a black insect crept.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
a small hill rising up from the African veld
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
being nothing more than specified
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
not any; not one
From this reading Service No. I.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On its page a black insect crept.
above and across; more than
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading On its page a black insect crept.
plural of “page” — one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
with low volume
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading Service No. I.
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
a very small spot
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The boy Waldo kissed the pages of his book and looked up.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Far over the flat lay the kopje, a mere speck; the sheep wandered quietly from bush to bush; the stillness of the early Sunday rested everywhere, and the air was fresh.
Chapter 5 of The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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.
Chapter 5 holds 207 sentences of The Story of an African Farm, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6299 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1441 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1441, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 524 minutes of reading across 1260 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of an African Farm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Story of an African Farm 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 Story of an African Farm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
