Chapter 3 of Seven O'Clock Stories is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Seven O'Clock Stories is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield. "Bang, bang!" Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped. They looked around. There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
Chapter 3 of Seven O'Clock Stories is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
strike violently
From this reading “"Bang, bang!"”
a field planted with corn
From this reading “Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.”
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading “Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading “There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped.”
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.”
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading “Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.”
signal by winking
From this reading “Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.”
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 Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading They looked around.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
strike violently
From this reading "Bang, bang!"
a field planted with corn
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped.
and nothing more
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading They looked around.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They looked around.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
at the time that
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
signal by winking
From this reading Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
in the company of; together with
From this reading There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder.
Chapter 3 of Seven O'Clock Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Seven O'Clock Stories, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Seven O'Clock Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Seven O'Clock Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7802 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7802, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 211 minutes of reading across 509 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Seven O'Clock Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Seven O'Clock Stories 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 Seven O'Clock Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
