Chapter 3 of Merely Mary Ann is here in full — 460 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Merely Mary Ann is here in full — 460 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically. "I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply. "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be." "It certainly isn't!" cried poor Lancelot. "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
Chapter 3 of Merely Mary Ann is here in full — 460 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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 boy or man
From this reading “"But everybody hits a chap when he's down."”
every person
From this reading “"But everybody hits a chap when he's down."”
plural of “hit” — (baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)
From this reading “"But everybody hits a chap when he's down."”
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table; friend of King Arthur until (according to some versions of the legend) he became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere
From this reading “"I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply.”
being ten more than eighty
From this reading “"None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."”
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading “"I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.”
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading “"None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."”
in an aggressive manner
From this reading “"I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply.”
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 "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
on the far side of; further than
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "It certainly isn't!" cried poor Lancelot.
a boy or man
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "It certainly isn't!" cried poor Lancelot.
with sadness; in a sorrowful manner
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
at any time
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
every person
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
a social unit living together
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
plural of “hit” — (baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It certainly isn't!" cried poor Lancelot.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table; friend of King Arthur until (according to some versions of the legend) he became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere
From this reading "I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
being ten more than eighty
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
not one, and not any
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "It certainly isn't!" cried poor Lancelot.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
with scepticism; in a sceptical manner
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading "I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "None of my family ever lived beyond ninety," said Peter, shaking his head dolefully; "and then, my heart is not so good as it might be."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I hope I shall live to see it," said Peter sceptically.
at the time that
From this reading "But everybody hits a chap when he's down."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I hope you will," said Lancelot sharply.
Chapter 3 of Merely Mary Ann by Israel Zangwill holds 460 sentences, grouped into 92 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 460 sentences of Merely Mary Ann, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Merely Mary Ann by Israel Zangwill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 460 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 Merely Mary Ann by Israel Zangwill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2314 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20078 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20078, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 192 minutes of reading across 463 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Merely Mary Ann section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Merely Mary Ann 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 Merely Mary Ann, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
