Chapter 5 of Ticktock and Jim is here in full — 426 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 Ticktock and Jim is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Jim got to his feet. While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously. He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak. Then he began to see a few familiar faces. There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
Chapter 5 of Ticktock and Jim is here in full — 426 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.
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading “There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.”
a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together
From this reading “While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.”
well known or easily recognized
From this reading “Then he began to see a few familiar faces.”
a marketplace where groceries are sold
From this reading “There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.”
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading “While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.”
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading “He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.”
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading “He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.”
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.
a marketplace where groceries are sold
In this reading “There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.”
In this reading “Then he began to see a few familiar faces.”
In this reading “While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.”
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 Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
well known or easily recognized
From this reading Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Jim got to his feet.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
the act of departing
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Jim got to his feet.
a marketplace where groceries are sold
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Jim got to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jim got to his feet.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
a form of address for a man
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
express in speech
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
not in physical motion
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he began to see a few familiar faces.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was Mr. Slemak, the buttermaker, Colonel Flesher, Mr. Higgins from the grocery store and Bill Arnold.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading He felt his knees shaking, and his throat was so dry he was certain he could never speak.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Jim got to his feet.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
during the time that
From this reading While the clapping was still going on, he looked about nervously.
Chapter 5 of Ticktock and Jim by Keith Robertson holds 426 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 426 sentences of Ticktock and Jim, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Ticktock and Jim by Keith Robertson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 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.
Common questions about reading Ticktock and Jim by Keith Robertson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44400 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44400, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 318 minutes of reading across 765 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ticktock and Jim section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Ticktock and Jim 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 Ticktock and Jim, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
