Chapter 3 of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF. As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid. “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied. “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say. I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
Chapter 3 of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
take revenge for a perceived wrong
From this reading “I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.””
possessive form of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading “I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.””
anemic looking from illness or emotion
From this reading “As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.”
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading “As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.”
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading “THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.”
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading “THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.”
in a startling manner
From this reading “As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.”
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 “THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.”
In this reading “As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.”
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 “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
take revenge for a perceived wrong
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
possessive form of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
anemic looking from illness or emotion
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
express in words
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.
in a startling manner
From this reading As Nancy seated herself on the edge of the bed, her face grew startlingly livid.
make steady
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
the topmost one of two
From this reading THE PACKET ON THE UPPER SHELF.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “I mean,” said Dr. Follett in a steady and strong voice, “exactly what I say.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You cannot surely mean what you are saying, father,” she replied.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I have failed to avenge your brother’s death; you must finish my work.”
Chapter 3 of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel by L. T. Meade holds 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 220 sentences of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel by L. T. Meade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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.
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Yes. All 5865 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66110 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66110, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 488 minutes of reading across 1173 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Son of Ishmael: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of A Son of Ishmael: A Novel 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 Son of Ishmael: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
