Chapter 3 of In the Firing Line 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 In the Firing Line is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What was the excuse given? Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue. The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings. My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England. But what we have suffered!
Chapter 3 of In the Firing Line 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.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.”
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.”
the act of burning something
From this reading “My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading ““What was the excuse given?”
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading “The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.”
past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading “But what we have suffered!”
not according with the facts
From this reading “Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.”
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 “The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.”
In this reading “My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.”
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.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.
the act of burning something
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
accept an excuse for
From this reading “What was the excuse given?
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading “What was the excuse given?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading But what we have suffered!
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading The real reason was the pulling down of the buildings.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading But what we have suffered!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “What was the excuse given?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
not according with the facts
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What was the excuse given?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But what we have suffered!
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, they said our people had shot at them, but that was absolutely untrue.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What was the excuse given?
at the time that
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
in the company of; together with
From this reading My house was burning when I left it with my three children, and here I am with them safe in England, beautiful England.
Chapter 3 of In the Firing Line by Arthur St. John Adcock 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 In the Firing Line, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of In the Firing Line by Arthur St. John Adcock 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 In the Firing Line by Arthur St. John Adcock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2060 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53151 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53151, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 171 minutes of reading across 412 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Firing Line section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of In the Firing Line 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 In the Firing Line, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
