Chapter 5 of The Surprise Book is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Surprise Book is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail. Yes. There _was_ a bear! Her heart went pat-pat-pat. A shiver ran down her back.
Chapter 5 of The Surprise Book is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 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.
have
From this reading “There _was_ a bear!”
the cognitive process that leads to convictions
From this reading “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
earnest or urgent request
From this reading “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
past form of “peep” — look furtively
From this reading “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading “A shiver ran down her back.”
institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
From this reading “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
marked by repeated turns and bends
From this reading “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
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 “Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.”
trace
In this reading “A shiver ran down her back.”
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 There _was_ a bear!
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
(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 Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading A shiver ran down her back.
a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
have
From this reading There _was_ a bear!
the cognitive process that leads to convictions
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading A shiver ran down her back.
earnest or urgent request
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Her heart went pat-pat-pat.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her heart went pat-pat-pat.
above and across; more than
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her heart went pat-pat-pat.
past form of “peep” — look furtively
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading A shiver ran down her back.
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading A shiver ran down her back.
institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There _was_ a bear!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There _was_ a bear!
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Her heart went pat-pat-pat.
marked by repeated turns and bends
From this reading Sue, half believing and against all entreaty, peeped over the winding balustrade rail.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes.
Chapter 5 of The Surprise Book by Patten Beard holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 422 sentences of The Surprise Book, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Surprise Book by Patten Beard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Surprise Book by Patten Beard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2501 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56170 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56170, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 208 minutes of reading across 501 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Surprise Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Surprise Book 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 Surprise Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
