Chapter 3 of Hobson's Choice is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Hobson's Choice is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FREDDY. You've been engaged to her, haven't you? WILLIE. Aye, but it weren't for long. And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
Chapter 3 of Hobson's Choice is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “You've been engaged to her, haven't you?”
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading “You've been engaged to her, haven't you?”
well known or easily recognized
From this reading “And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.”
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading “Aye, but it weren't for long.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.”
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aye, but it weren't for long.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Aye, but it weren't for long.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
well known or easily recognized
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Aye, but it weren't for long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FREDDY.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Aye, but it weren't for long.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Aye, but it weren't for long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aye, but it weren't for long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WILLIE.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And you see, Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You've been engaged to her, haven't you?
Chapter 3 of Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Hobson's Choice, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1205 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6347 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6347, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 100 minutes of reading across 241 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hobson's Choice section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Hobson's Choice 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 Hobson's Choice, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
