Chapter 3 of Tales of St. Austin's is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Tales of St. Austin's is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam. That was what I told Mellish. Any beak would have swallowed it.' 'Well, didn't he?' 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
Chapter 3 of Tales of St. Austin's is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading “'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.”
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading “'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.”
beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
From this reading “Any beak would have swallowed it.'”
a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge
From this reading “'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.”
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading “'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.”
past form of “swallow” — pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
From this reading “Any beak would have swallowed it.'”
not fair; marked by injustice or partiality or deception
From this reading “'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.”
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.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Any beak would have swallowed it.'
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
From this reading Any beak would have swallowed it.'
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well, didn't he?'
a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Any beak would have swallowed it.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Well, didn't he?'
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That was what I told Mellish.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
and nothing more
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
precisely, exactly
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
past form of “swallow” — pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
From this reading Any beak would have swallowed it.'
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was what I told Mellish.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'Mellish did all right, but the rotter couldn't keep it to himself.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading That was what I told Mellish.
not fair; marked by injustice or partiality or deception
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading 'Well, of course, I read it, not knowing what it was, and then, as the only way of not taking an unfair advantage, I did as badly as I could in the exam.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Any beak would have swallowed it.'
Chapter 3 of Tales of St. Austin's by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of Tales of St. Austin's, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Tales of St. Austin's by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Tales of St. Austin's by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3881 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6980 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6980, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 777 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of St. Austin's section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Tales of St. Austin's 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 Tales of St. Austin's, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
