Chapter 3 of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Ready to go, Willie?” It was Cap’m Archie. His voice was kind and filled with sorrow. Willie hated to see Cap’m Archie like that. But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
Chapter 3 of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
liveliness and eagerness
From this reading “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
in a brisk manner
From this reading “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
past form of “click” — move or strike with a noise
From this reading “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading “Willie hated to see Cap’m Archie like that.”
past form of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
move stealthily
From this reading “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading “His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.”
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
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 “But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.”
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.
liveliness and eagerness
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Cap’m Archie.
in a brisk manner
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Cap’m Archie.
past form of “click” — move or strike with a noise
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Ready to go, Willie?”
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading Willie hated to see Cap’m Archie like that.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Cap’m Archie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Willie hated to see Cap’m Archie like that.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
past form of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading “Ready to go, Willie?”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Willie hated to see Cap’m Archie like that.
move stealthily
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Willie hated to see Cap’m Archie like that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Ready to go, Willie?”
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Cap’m Archie.
at the time that
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ready to go, Willie?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading His voice was kind and filled with sorrow.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading But when the jailer’s teeth clicked together and he said briskly, “Here, slip your hands into these,” it did not sound so sad, and Willie obeyed with alacrity.
Chapter 3 of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 by Society of Arts and Sciences (U.S.) [Editor] holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 by Society of Arts and Sciences (U.S.) [Editor] exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 by Society of Arts and Sciences (U.S.) [Editor] on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8227 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76802 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76802, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1646 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927 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 O. Henry Memorial Award prize stories of 1927, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
