Chapter 3 of In the Onyx Lobby is here in full — 256 sentences across 52 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 Onyx Lobby is here in full — 256 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all. Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home. But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared. “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.” “You’d like her to be?”
Chapter 3 of In the Onyx Lobby is here in full — 256 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading “Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.”
possessive form of “aunt” — the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
third-person singular of “bate” — moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
From this reading “Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.”
United States musician and composer and conductor noted for his comic operas (1859-1924)
From this reading “But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.”
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading “The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.”
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading “Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.”
past form of “scrawl” — write carelessly
From this reading “The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.”
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading ““Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.””
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.
a youthful female person
In this reading ““Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.””
In this reading “Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.”
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 “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
(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 The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
possessive form of “aunt” — the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
third-person singular of “bate” — moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “You’d like her to be?”
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
something many people believe that is false
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
set up or found
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
a young female
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “You’d like her to be?”
United States musician and composer and conductor noted for his comic operas (1859-1924)
From this reading But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “You’d like her to be?”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
not any; not one
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading Bates on reaching his aunt’s apartment found no one at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
past form of “scrawl” — write carelessly
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
term of address for a man
From this reading But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.
in the near future
From this reading But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The Scrawled Message But, as it turned out, Dorcas hadn’t “done it” at all.
precisely as stated
From this reading But very soon Sir Herbert Binney appeared.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’d like her to be?”
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading “Look here, Richard,” he began, “I’ve taken a fancy to that little girl of yours——” “She isn’t mine.”
Chapter 3 of In the Onyx Lobby by Carolyn Wells holds 256 sentences, grouped into 52 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 256 sentences of In the Onyx Lobby, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of In the Onyx Lobby by Carolyn Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 256 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 Onyx Lobby by Carolyn Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4661 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35254 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35254, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 388 minutes of reading across 933 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Onyx Lobby section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of In the Onyx Lobby 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 Onyx Lobby, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
