Chapter 3 of Mothers to Men is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Mothers to Men is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low. "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl. "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says. 'I see they're lit up. Who's coming?'
Chapter 3 of Mothers to Men is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 act of brushing your teeth
From this reading “"Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.”
the outside boundary or surface of something
From this reading “"Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “'I see they're lit up.”
a large number or amount
From this reading “"'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.”
low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation; usually is a transition zone between land and water
From this reading “"'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.”
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading “"Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.”
plural of “professor” — someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “"'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.”
cloak consisting of an oblong piece of cloth used to cover the head and shoulders
From this reading “"Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.”
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.
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 "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
the act of brushing your teeth
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Who's coming?'
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
the outside boundary or surface of something
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I see they're lit up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
provided with artificial light
From this reading 'I see they're lit up.
a large number or amount
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation; usually is a transition zone between land and water
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
plural of “professor” — someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading 'I see they're lit up.
cloak consisting of an oblong piece of cloth used to cover the head and shoulders
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
a person, without saying who
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I see they're lit up.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "'There's lots of professors of being human, Miss Marsh,' Insley says to me, low.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Who's coming?'
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Mis' Holcomb stood thinking a minute, brushing her lips with the fringe of her shawl.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "'Mebbe somebody up to the Proudfits' would do something for him,' she says.
Chapter 3 of Mothers to Men by Zona Gale holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 426 sentences of Mothers to Men, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Mothers to Men by Zona Gale exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Mothers to Men by Zona Gale on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4225 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53650 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53650, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 352 minutes of reading across 845 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mothers to Men section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Mothers to Men 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 Mothers to Men, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
