Chapter 3 of Children of Men is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Children of Men is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile. Bernstein was trembling. “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did. Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out. For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
Chapter 3 of Children of Men is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
United States conductor and composer (1918-1990)
From this reading “Bernstein was trembling.”
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading “Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.”
(of an infant) breast-fed
From this reading “Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.”
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading “Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.”
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading “Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.”
a shaky motion
From this reading “Bernstein was trembling.”
impaired by diminution
From this reading “Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.”
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 “Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.”
In this reading “Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.”
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 For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
United States conductor and composer (1918-1990)
From this reading Bernstein was trembling.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
held dear
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
(of an infant) breast-fed
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
and nothing more
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “I am glad, though, that all happened as it did.
a shaky motion
From this reading Bernstein was trembling.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Bernstein was trembling.
impaired by diminution
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading For a man can do that for his love which he cannot do for himself.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Natzi looked at the bowed head before him with tender smile.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Had I nursed you only for your own sake, much as I loved you, I might have weakened, my strength might not have held out.
Chapter 3 of Children of Men by Bruno Lessing holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Children of Men, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Children of Men by Bruno Lessing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Children of Men by Bruno Lessing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3398 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54761 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54761, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 680 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Children of Men section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Children of Men 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 Children of Men, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
