Chapter 3 of The best short stories of 1920, and is here in full — 498 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The best short stories of 1920, and is here in full — 498 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians: "Play, play." For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out. But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza. He dragged his feet and fell.
Chapter 3 of The best short stories of 1920, and is here in full — 498 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/99 · 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.
past form of “dance” — move in a graceful and rhythmical way
From this reading “For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.”
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading “He dragged his feet and fell.”
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading “And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:”
a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:”
be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
From this reading “But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza.”
plural of “musician” — someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
From this reading “And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:”
possessive form of “smith” — Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading “And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:”
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading “And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:”
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 For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
past form of “dance” — move in a graceful and rhythmical way
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading He dragged his feet and fell.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading He dragged his feet and fell.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading He dragged his feet and fell.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza.
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He dragged his feet and fell.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
From this reading But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza.
plural of “musician” — someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
not any; not one
From this reading But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
participate in games or sport
From this reading "Play, play."
possessive form of “smith” — Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading And as he finished speaking he grasped the smith's helper around the waist and called to the musicians:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But the smith's helper was no match for Ghitza.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
during the time that
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
a Caucasian
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
in the company of; together with
From this reading For a full hour he danced around and around with the man while the village watched them and called to the white man to hold out.
Chapter 3 of The best short stories of 1920, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 498 sentences, grouped into 100 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 498 sentences of The best short stories of 1920, and, unabridged, divided into 100 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The best short stories of 1920, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 498 sentences, grouped into 100 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 100 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 100 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 best short stories of 1920, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 19297 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22091 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22091, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3860 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1920, and section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The best short stories of 1920, and 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 best short stories of 1920, and, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
