Chapter 3 of One Man's Initiation—1917 is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of One Man's Initiation—1917 is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls. "They say the Boches came over last night. They killed a lot of permissionaires." "That river's the Marne." "Gosh, is it?
Chapter 3 of One Man's Initiation—1917 is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “boche” — offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “"They say the Boches came over last night.”
rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used as a building or paving material
From this reading “At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.”
shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
From this reading “At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.”
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading “At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.”
possessive form of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “"That river's the Marne."”
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading “At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.”
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading “At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.”
destroyed in an accident
From this reading “At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.”
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 They killed a lot of permissionaires."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
plural of “boche” — offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading "They say the Boches came over last night.
rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used as a building or paving material
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "They say the Boches came over last night.
shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gosh, is it?
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Gosh, is it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Gosh, is it?
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading They killed a lot of permissionaires."
immediately past
From this reading "They say the Boches came over last night.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading They killed a lot of permissionaires."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That river's the Marne."
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "They say the Boches came over last night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
above and across; more than
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They killed a lot of permissionaires."
possessive form of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading "That river's the Marne."
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
express in words
From this reading "They say the Boches came over last night.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That river's the Marne."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They say the Boches came over last night.
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
destroyed in an accident
From this reading At Epernay the station was wrecked; the corrugated tin of the roof hung in strips over the crumbled brick walls.
Chapter 3 of One Man's Initiation—1917 by John Dos Passos holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 151 sentences of One Man's Initiation—1917, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of One Man's Initiation—1917 by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 One Man's Initiation—1917 by John Dos Passos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2003 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24202 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24202, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 166 minutes of reading across 401 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through One Man's Initiation—1917 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of One Man's Initiation—1917 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 One Man's Initiation—1917, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
