Chapter 5 of The Valley of Vision is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 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 Vision is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Phipps-Herrick grunted. “Certainly I took it. It was supposed to be a soft-snap course. What do you think we go to Harvard for? But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
Chapter 5 of The Valley of Vision is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading ““Certainly I took it.”
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading “But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.”
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading “But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.”
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading “Phipps-Herrick grunted.”
a university in Massachusetts
From this reading “What do you think we go to Harvard for?”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.”
required or under orders
From this reading “It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.”
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 It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “Certainly I took it.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading Phipps-Herrick grunted.
a university in Massachusetts
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Certainly I took it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Certainly I took it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Phipps-Herrick grunted.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
required or under orders
From this reading It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading “Certainly I took it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But that little beast, Professor von Buch, gave me a cold forty-minus on examination.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was supposed to be a soft-snap course.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What do you think we go to Harvard for?
Chapter 5 of The Valley of Vision by Henry Van Dyke holds 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 436 sentences of The Valley of Vision, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Valley of Vision by Henry Van Dyke exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Vision by Henry Van Dyke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3528 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6009 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6009, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 294 minutes of reading across 706 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Valley of Vision section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Valley of Vision 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 Vision, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
