Chapter 3 of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CUSTOMS OF THE SERVICE. I. The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’ We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing. I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
Chapter 3 of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 feeling of delight at being entertained
From this reading “I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.”
plural of “answer” — a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.”
muscular and heavily built
From this reading “I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.”
tired of the world
From this reading “I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.”
money collected under a tariff
From this reading “CUSTOMS OF THE SERVICE.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’”
a minor match preceding the main event
From this reading “The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’”
unpredictably excitable (especially of horses)
From this reading “I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.”
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.
knowledge that is available to anyone
In this reading “We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.”
In this reading “We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.”
In this reading “I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.”
In this reading “We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.”
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 We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
a feeling of delight at being entertained
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
plural of “answer” — a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
muscular and heavily built
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
tired of the world
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
money collected under a tariff
From this reading CUSTOMS OF THE SERVICE.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CUSTOMS OF THE SERVICE.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
have ownership or possession of
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
a minor match preceding the main event
From this reading The old ‘com.’ fairly caught me out at the ‘prelim.’
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading CUSTOMS OF THE SERVICE.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
unpredictably excitable (especially of horses)
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CUSTOMS OF THE SERVICE.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
a special situation
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We had a general knowledge paper set—a fairly easy thing.
produce a literary work
From this reading I finished mine in about half–an–hour; then, getting bored waiting for Beefy, I started to write some skittish answers for my own amusement.
Chapter 3 of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet by R. W. Campbell holds 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 209 sentences of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet by R. W. Campbell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet by R. W. Campbell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4419 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47391 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47391, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 368 minutes of reading across 884 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet 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 John Brown: Confessions of a New Army Cadet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
