Chapter 3 of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing. The place had a grim fascination for him. Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall. The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him. The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.
Chapter 3 of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
able to attract interest or draw favorable attention
From this reading “The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.”
the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror)
From this reading “The place had a grim fascination for him.”
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading “The place had a grim fascination for him.”
record on photographic film
From this reading “The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.”
in a strange manner
From this reading “The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.”
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading “Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.”
the state of being under the control of another person
From this reading “Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.”
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 “Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.”
a man who is very old
In this reading “Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.”
In this reading “Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.”
In this reading “Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.”
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 The place had a grim fascination for him.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
able to attract interest or draw favorable attention
From this reading The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.
bound with chains
From this reading The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror)
From this reading The place had a grim fascination for him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The place had a grim fascination for him.
a young female
From this reading The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading The place had a grim fascination for him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The place had a grim fascination for him.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The place had a grim fascination for him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.
the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses
From this reading The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
record on photographic film
From this reading The appealing look of the girl in the photograph enchained him.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.
having a supporting base
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
not in physical motion
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
in a strange manner
From this reading The dream spoke strangely to his imagination.
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
the state of being under the control of another person
From this reading Something about the old man's face and staring eyes held him in thrall.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
in or at the place that
From this reading Next day Bill rode to the place where the dead man's tent was still standing.
Chapter 3 of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales by Andrew Robertson holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 100 sentences of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales by Andrew Robertson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales by Andrew Robertson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2657 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54415 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54415, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 221 minutes of reading across 532 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales 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 Nuggets in the Devil's Punch Bowl, and Other Australian Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
