Chapter 3 of The Bridge-Builders is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Bridge-Builders is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Ah, true! The Gods surely--the Gods.” Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest. Peroo was eminently right. After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
Chapter 3 of The Bridge-Builders is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading “Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.”
in an eminent manner
From this reading “Peroo was eminently right.”
the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land
From this reading “After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.”
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “The Gods surely--the Gods.””
a public toilet for men
plural of “mouth” — the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading “After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.”
happening every night
From this reading “After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.”
past form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
later than; following
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ah, true!
possessing life
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
(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 After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
in an eminent manner
From this reading Peroo was eminently right.
apart from; not including
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading The Gods surely--the Gods.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
a public toilet for men
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
plural of “mouth” — the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
happening every night
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Peroo was eminently right.
past form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Peroo was eminently right.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Findlayson smiled as his head fell forward on his chest.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading The Gods surely--the Gods.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Gods surely--the Gods.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “Ah, true!
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Peroo was eminently right.
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
which person or people
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading After the Flood, who should be alive in the land except the Gods that made it--the Gods to whom his village prayed nightly--the Gods who were in all men’s mouths and about all men’s ways.
Chapter 3 of The Bridge-Builders by Rudyard Kipling holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 199 sentences of The Bridge-Builders, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Bridge-Builders by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Bridge-Builders by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 802 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2163 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2163, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 161 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bridge-Builders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Bridge-Builders 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 Bridge-Builders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
