Chapter 3 of Our Bessie is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Our Bessie is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HATTY. The brief silence was broken by Edna. "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone. Bessie looked up in some surprise. "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
Chapter 3 of Our Bessie is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
make certain of
From this reading “"Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.”
of short duration or distance
From this reading “The brief silence was broken by Edna.”
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading “"Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.”
deem to be
From this reading “"Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “"What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.”
a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University
From this reading “"Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.”
(used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension
From this reading “"What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.”
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading “"Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.”
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 "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
make certain of
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bessie looked up in some surprise.
a youthful male person
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
of short duration or distance
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
deem to be
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
at any time
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HATTY.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Bessie looked up in some surprise.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
(used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
on the contrary
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Bessie looked up in some surprise.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Bessie looked up in some surprise.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
male cat
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Bessie looked up in some surprise.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The brief silence was broken by Edna.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Tom does not consider himself a boy, I assure you; he is one-and-twenty, and ever since he has gone to Oxford he thinks himself of great consequence.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What a nice boy your brother is!" she observed, in rather a patronizing tone.
Chapter 3 of Our Bessie by Rosa Nouchette Carey holds 155 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 155 sentences of Our Bessie, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Our Bessie by Rosa Nouchette Carey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 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 Our Bessie by Rosa Nouchette Carey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4141 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28651 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28651, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 829 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Our Bessie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Our Bessie 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 Our Bessie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
