Chapter 3 of Neighborhood Stories is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Neighborhood Stories is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting? Wasn’t it?” Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder. “I s’pose _you’re_ satisfied,” he says. “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
Chapter 3 of Neighborhood Stories is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
any federal law-enforcement officer
From this reading ““You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.””
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading “Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.”
a holding device
From this reading “Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.”
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading “Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.”
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading ““Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?”
-ing form of “pinch” — squeeze tightly between the fingers
From this reading “Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.”
filled with satisfaction
From this reading ““I s’pose _you’re_ satisfied,” he says.”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading ““Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?”
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 “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
a quad with a square body
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
divisible by two
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
any federal law-enforcement officer
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I s’pose _you’re_ satisfied,” he says.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
a holding device
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
-ing form of “pinch” — squeeze tightly between the fingers
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
on the contrary
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I s’pose _you’re_ satisfied,” he says.
filled with satisfaction
From this reading “I s’pose _you’re_ satisfied,” he says.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
carry out
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Silas was pinching, gingerish, at the hot stove-door handle, rather than take his coat-tail for a holder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You fed ’em, even if we didn’t get much done.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I s’pose _you’re_ satisfied,” he says.
Chapter 3 of Neighborhood Stories by Zona Gale holds 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 431 sentences of Neighborhood Stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Neighborhood Stories by Zona Gale exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Neighborhood Stories by Zona Gale on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4241 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52089 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52089, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 849 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Neighborhood Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Neighborhood Stories 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 Neighborhood Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
