Chapter 3 of Gargoyles is here in full — 411 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 Gargoyles is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Fanny hesitated. Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive. She must do something. Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him. But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
Chapter 3 of Gargoyles is here in full — 411 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.
preventing entry or exit or a course of action
From this reading “But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.”
a gentle affectionate stroking (or something resembling it)
From this reading “Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.”
having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination
From this reading “Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.”
wanted intensely
From this reading “Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.”
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading “Fanny hesitated.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “Fanny hesitated.”
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading “Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.”
showing firm determination or purpose
From this reading “But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.”
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.
possessing life
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
preventing entry or exit or a course of action
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
a gentle affectionate stroking (or something resembling it)
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
wanted intensely
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading She must do something.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading Fanny hesitated.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading Fanny hesitated.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She must do something.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
showing firm determination or purpose
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She must do something.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading She must do something.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading But she resolutely barred further thoughts from her mind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her face had grown colored and her nerves were alive.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Her fingers desired to caress Keegan's hair and she thought how nice it would be to be kissed by him.
Chapter 3 of Gargoyles by Ben Hecht holds 411 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 411 sentences of Gargoyles, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Gargoyles by Ben Hecht exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 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 Gargoyles by Ben Hecht on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8277 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38489 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38489, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Gargoyles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Gargoyles 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 Gargoyles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
