Chapter 3 of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously. "For if you don't, I can't tell you." "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded. "Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice. And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
Chapter 3 of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “"But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.”
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.”
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading “"I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.”
hear with intention
From this reading “"Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice.”
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.”
past form of “recite” — recite in elocution
From this reading “And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.”
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading “"I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.”
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading “"But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.”
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 “"But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.”
In this reading “"I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.”
In this reading “And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "For if you don't, I can't tell you."
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "For if you don't, I can't tell you."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "For if you don't, I can't tell you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "For if you don't, I can't tell you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
and nothing more
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
hear with intention
From this reading "Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
a larval frog or toad
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
past form of “recite” — recite in elocution
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
express in words
From this reading "For if you don't, I can't tell you."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And then the strange bird recited this poem about THE POLLYWOG.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm just crazy to know," Jimmieboy responded.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Then listen, and I will tell you," said the voice.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But you wonder why now, don't you?" asked the voice, anxiously.
Chapter 3 of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy by John Kendrick Bangs holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 440 sentences of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy by John Kendrick Bangs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Half-Hours with Jimmieboy by John Kendrick Bangs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2165 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39757 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39757, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 180 minutes of reading across 433 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half-Hours with Jimmieboy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Half-Hours with Jimmieboy 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 Half-Hours with Jimmieboy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
