Chapter 3 of Stories By English Authors — Italy is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Stories By English Authors — Italy is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SI VIEILLESSE POUVAIT! Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa. The two old ladies were highly delighted. “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty. “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
Chapter 3 of Stories By English Authors — Italy is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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 “hair” — a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading ““I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.””
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading “The two old ladies were highly delighted.”
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.”
drawn out or made longer spatially
From this reading “Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.”
born after a gestation period of less than the normal time
From this reading ““I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.””
relating to or characteristic of people of Rome
From this reading ““I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.””
used as an Italian courtesy title; can be prefixed to the name or used separately
From this reading “Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.”
Mexican revolutionary leader (1877-1923)
From this reading “Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.”
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.
a proposal for an appropriate course of action
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
greatly pleased
From this reading The two old ladies were highly delighted.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
plural of “hair” — a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading The two old ladies were highly delighted.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading The two old ladies were highly delighted.
immediately past
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
drawn out or made longer spatially
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The two old ladies were highly delighted.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SI VIEILLESSE POUVAIT!
born after a gestation period of less than the normal time
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
relating to or characteristic of people of Rome
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
a tetravalent nonmetallic element; next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand; used as a semiconductor in transistors
From this reading SI VIEILLESSE POUVAIT!
used as an Italian courtesy title; can be prefixed to the name or used separately
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
not in physical motion
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “At last he has taken my advice!” cried Miss Prunty.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I always told him those premature gray hairs came from late hours and Roman air.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SI VIEILLESSE POUVAIT!
Mexican revolutionary leader (1877-1923)
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading Signor Graziano’s usual week of holiday passed and lengthened into almost two months, and still he stayed on at the villa.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The two old ladies were highly delighted.
Chapter 3 of Stories By English Authors — Italy by James [Contributor] Payn holds 90 sentences, grouped into 18 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 90 sentences of Stories By English Authors — Italy, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Stories By English Authors — Italy by James [Contributor] Payn exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 Stories By English Authors — Italy by James [Contributor] Payn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1239 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2457 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2457, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 103 minutes of reading across 248 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stories By English Authors — Italy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Stories By English Authors — Italy 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 Stories By English Authors — Italy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
