Chapter 3 of Old Mole is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Old Mole is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's very good of you. I must have been an incubus. I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater." "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business. Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
Chapter 3 of Old Mole is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “"We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.”
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading “Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.”
a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
From this reading “"We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “"We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.”
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading “I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."”
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
From this reading “I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."”
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading “"We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.”
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 "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I must have been an incubus.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I must have been an incubus.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "It's very good of you.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I must have been an incubus.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I must have been an incubus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women
From this reading I must have been an incubus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's very good of you.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I must have been an incubus.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It's very good of you.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
From this reading I'm sure I must be taking you away from the theater."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
precisely as stated
From this reading "It's very good of you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We've got a new tune on the organ and we're doing splendid business.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It's very good of you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Mr. Copas _will_ be glad to hear you've asked for your spectacles.
Chapter 3 of Old Mole by Gilbert Cannan holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 409 sentences of Old Mole, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Old Mole by Gilbert Cannan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Old Mole by Gilbert Cannan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5295 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43423 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43423, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 441 minutes of reading across 1059 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Mole section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Old Mole 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 Old Mole, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
