Chapter 3 of The Bat is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Bat is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Lizzie!” “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily. Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you. Well, I’ll go on. ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
Chapter 3 of The Bat is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading “Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.”
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading “‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!”
the process of giving careful thought to something
From this reading “Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.”
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.”
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading ““Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.”
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.”
(mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other
From this reading “Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.”
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 ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
the process of giving careful thought to something
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Well, I’ll go on.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I’ll go on.
an impudent statement
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Lizzie!”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
not any; not one
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Well, I’ll go on.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “Well, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
(mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
(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, it made me sick at heart, Miss Neily.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Her with her hat and her bag and her talk about twins—and no consideration for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘You’re a clever woman, aren’t you?’ says she—the impudence!
Chapter 3 of The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 213 sentences of The Bat, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4997 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2019 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2019, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 416 minutes of reading across 1000 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Bat 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 The Bat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
