Chapter 3 of Celibates is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Celibates is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him. His eyes were averted. He was looking where some ducks were swimming. They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks. A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
Chapter 3 of Celibates is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 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.
without aim; in an aimless manner
From this reading “A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.”
past form of “avert” — prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
From this reading “His eyes were averted.”
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading “Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.”
English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
From this reading “They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.”
to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading “A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.”
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading “He was looking where some ducks were swimming.”
past form of “paddle” — propel with a paddle
From this reading “A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.”
the act of swimming
From this reading “He was looking where some ducks were swimming.”
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 They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
without aim; in an aimless manner
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
past form of “avert” — prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
From this reading His eyes were averted.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes were averted.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
past form of “paddle” — propel with a paddle
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading Mildred raised her eyes cautiously and looked at him.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
the act of swimming
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading A third duck paddled aimlessly about at some little distance.
in the direction of
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading They came towards the bank slowly--a drake and two ducks.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His eyes were averted.
in or at the place that
From this reading He was looking where some ducks were swimming.
Chapter 3 of Celibates by George Moore holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 3 holds 410 sentences of Celibates, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Celibates by George Moore exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Celibates by George Moore on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6830 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6005 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6005, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 569 minutes of reading across 1366 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Celibates section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Celibates 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 Celibates, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
