Chapter 3 of A Jay of Italy is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of A Jay of Italy is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity. He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour. Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench. Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden. ’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?
Chapter 3 of A Jay of Italy is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 framework that supports climbing plants
From this reading “He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.”
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading “He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.”
-ing form of “faint” — pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain
From this reading “Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.”
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.”
past form of “mouth” — express in speech
From this reading “Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.”
a sudden or mysterious disappearance
From this reading “Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.”
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.
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 Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
later than; following
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
a framework that supports climbing plants
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
an onerous or difficult concern
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
-ing form of “faint” — pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading ’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading ’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?
past form of “mouth” — express in speech
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?
a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading He rose and fled, bloody and bemired, from the arbour.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
doomed to extinction
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading ’Love!’ he groaned: ’Thou ow’st me?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
a sudden or mysterious disappearance
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The fallen scoundrel was quick to the opportunity.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Madonna, seeing him escape, sunk, with a fainting sigh, upon her bench.
but in spite of that
From this reading Carlo mouthed after his vanishing prey; yet he was tender with his burden.
Chapter 3 of A Jay of Italy by Bernard Capes holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 3 holds 413 sentences of A Jay of Italy, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of A Jay of Italy by Bernard Capes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 3 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 A Jay of Italy by Bernard Capes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6602 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44114 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44114, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 550 minutes of reading across 1321 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Jay of Italy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of A Jay of Italy 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 A Jay of Italy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
