Chapter 3 of Barbarians is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Barbarians is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CUCKOO! Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress. Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle. Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering. Nobody attempted to read; nobody touched the cards again.
Chapter 3 of Barbarians is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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 man who is a stupid incompetent fool
From this reading “CUCKOO!”
a hard kind of stone; a form of silica more opaque than chalcedony
From this reading “Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.”
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading “Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.”
a city in northwest Indiana on Lake Michigan; steel production
From this reading “Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.”
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading “Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.”
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.”
the news as presented by reporters for newspapers or radio or television
From this reading “Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.”
plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure
From this reading “Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.”
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 Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
anew
From this reading Nobody attempted to read; nobody touched the cards again.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
on or to one side
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Nobody attempted to read; nobody touched the cards again.
plural of “blanket” — bedding that keeps a person warm in bed
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
a game played with playing cards
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
From this reading CUCKOO!
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
a hard kind of stone; a form of silica more opaque than chalcedony
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
a city in northwest Indiana on Lake Michigan; steel production
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
set afire or burning
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
no person; not anyone
From this reading Nobody attempted to read; nobody touched the cards again.
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
above and across; more than
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Nobody attempted to read; nobody touched the cards again.
the news as presented by reporters for newspapers or radio or television
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Flint took up the cards, looked at Gary, then flung them aside, muttering.
having come into contact
From this reading Nobody attempted to read; nobody touched the cards again.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Carfax, on duty, sat hunched up over the telephone, reporting to the fortress.
made or consisting of (entirely or in part) or employing wood
From this reading Gray came in, closed the wooden shutters, hung blankets over them, lighted an oil stove and then a candle.
Chapter 3 of Barbarians by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 150 sentences of Barbarians, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Barbarians by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Barbarians by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4087 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25623 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25623, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Barbarians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Barbarians 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 Barbarians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
