Chapter 5 of The Talking Horse, and Other Tales is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Talking Horse, and Other Tales is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Well,' I said, 'perhaps you're right. I--I'm in no great hurry. Were you thinking of taking me in some different style? I am quite at your disposition.' He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
Chapter 5 of The Talking Horse, and Other Tales is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
From this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
your usual mood
From this reading “I am quite at your disposition.'”
the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale
From this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
dependable
From this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?”
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 “Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?”
In this reading “I--I'm in no great hurry.”
make visible
In this reading “He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.”
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 He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am quite at your disposition.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I am quite at your disposition.'
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
your usual mood
From this reading I am quite at your disposition.'
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading I--I'm in no great hurry.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading I--I'm in no great hurry.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Well,' I said, 'perhaps you're right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I--I'm in no great hurry.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I--I'm in no great hurry.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
not any; not one
From this reading I--I'm in no great hurry.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
by chance
From this reading 'Well,' I said, 'perhaps you're right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading I am quite at your disposition.'
precisely, exactly
From this reading 'Well,' I said, 'perhaps you're right.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Well,' I said, 'perhaps you're right.
the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
dependable
From this reading He brought out a small but stout property-mast, and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
(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,' I said, 'perhaps you're right.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Were you thinking of taking me in some different style?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well,' I said, 'perhaps you're right.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I am quite at your disposition.'
Chapter 5 of The Talking Horse, and Other Tales by F. Anstey holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 427 sentences of The Talking Horse, and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Talking Horse, and Other Tales by F. Anstey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Talking Horse, and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
