Chapter 5 of The Valley of Silent Men is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Valley of Silent Men is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel. "Come in," he said. The next instant he was staring. The girl had entered and closed the door behind her. O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
Chapter 5 of The Valley of Silent Men is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat
From this reading “O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.”
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading “The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.”
fasten with a latch
From this reading “The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.”
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading “The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.”
possessive form of “o'connor” — United States writer (1925-1964)
From this reading “O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.”
sheet that forms a distinct (usually flat and rectangular) section or component of something
From this reading “The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “The next instant he was staring.”
cut a female screw thread with a tap
From this reading “The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.”
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 The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come in," he said.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
a young female
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Come in," he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl had entered and closed the door behind her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Come in," he said.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading The next instant he was staring.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
fasten with a latch
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next instant he was staring.
possessive form of “o'connor” — United States writer (1925-1964)
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
sheet that forms a distinct (usually flat and rectangular) section or component of something
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Come in," he said.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading The next instant he was staring.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading O'Connor's picture stood in flesh and blood before him.
cut a female screw thread with a tap
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The next instant he was staring.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The latch moved slowly, and with its movement came a gentle tap on the panel.
Chapter 5 of The Valley of Silent Men by James Oliver Curwood holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 271 sentences of The Valley of Silent Men, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Valley of Silent Men by James Oliver Curwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 Valley of Silent Men by James Oliver Curwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5023 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4707 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4707, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 418 minutes of reading across 1005 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Valley of Silent Men section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Valley of Silent Men 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 Valley of Silent Men, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
