Chapter 3 of The Blue Venus is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Blue Venus is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast. He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been. It was the odor of burning flesh. Mia MacIver had been branded! VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
Chapter 3 of The Blue Venus is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
(of goods and merchandise) marked or labeled by a distinctive word or symbol indicating exclusive rights
From this reading “Mia MacIver had been branded!”
the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat
From this reading “It was the odor of burning flesh.”
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading “He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.”
any property detected by the olfactory system
From this reading “It was the odor of burning flesh.”
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading “He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.”
a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
From this reading “There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.”
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading “He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
feeling or showing anger
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
(of goods and merchandise) marked or labeled by a distinctive word or symbol indicating exclusive rights
From this reading Mia MacIver had been branded!
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
the act of burning something
From this reading It was the odor of burning flesh.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat
From this reading It was the odor of burning flesh.
brought together in one place
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the odor of burning flesh.
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mia MacIver had been branded!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mia MacIver had been branded!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
any property detected by the olfactory system
From this reading It was the odor of burning flesh.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the odor of burning flesh.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading VI Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He realized what the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been.
Chapter 3 of The Blue Venus by Robert Emmett McDowell holds 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 452 sentences of The Blue Venus, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Blue Venus by Robert Emmett McDowell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Blue Venus by Robert Emmett McDowell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1362 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63779 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63779, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 113 minutes of reading across 273 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Blue Venus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Blue Venus 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 Blue Venus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
