Chapter 3 of New Bodies for Old 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 New Bodies for Old is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth. Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment. “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?” I asked. “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
Chapter 3 of New Bodies for Old 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.
A large French country house or castle, often surrounded by expansive estates and private galleries.
come together as in a cluster or flock
From this reading “Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.”
complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
From this reading “AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.”
a man who delivers the mail
From this reading “Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.”
a partly sheltered anchorage
From this reading “Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.”
a gradual sinking to a lower level
From this reading ““Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.””
plural of “twist” — an unforeseen development
From this reading “AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.”
plural of “zigzag” — an angular shape characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions
From this reading ““Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?””
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.
In this reading ““Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.””
temporarily
In this reading “Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.”
In this reading “Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.”
In this reading “Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.”
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 Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
later than; following
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
in the past
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked.
a line of approach
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
A large French country house or castle, often surrounded by expansive estates and private galleries.
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
come together as in a cluster or flock
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I asked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
a particular point in time
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
a man who delivers the mail
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
a partly sheltered anchorage
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
a gradual sinking to a lower level
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
from a time in the past until now
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
term of address for a man
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Sometimes in presence of a cluster of roads the postman himself hesitated for a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
successive (without a break)
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
plural of “twist” — an unforeseen development
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
at the time that
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading AMONG THE SPHINXES The car slowly wound its way among the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
a late time of life
From this reading “Four years ago, Sir--about a year after the settling in of Mr. Learne in the _château_.”
plural of “zigzag” — an angular shape characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions
From this reading “Since when have these zigzags taken the place of the straight avenue?”
Chapter 3 of New Bodies for Old by Maurice Renard 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 New Bodies for Old, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of New Bodies for Old by Maurice Renard 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 New Bodies for Old by Maurice Renard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4154 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59647 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59647, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 831 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through New Bodies for Old section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of New Bodies for Old 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 New Bodies for Old, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
