Chapter 3 of The burning world is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The burning world is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound. His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent. Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance. Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose. Then his eyes caught, and held.
Chapter 3 of The burning world is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading “Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.”
being very thin
From this reading “Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.”
marked by blithe unconcern
From this reading “Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.”
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading “Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.”
curved down like an eagle's beak
From this reading “Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.”
continuing or enduring without marked change in status or condition or place
From this reading “Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.”
disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
From this reading “Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.”
past form of “shift” — make a shift in or exchange of
From this reading “Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.”
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.
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 Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
being very thin
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
marked by blithe unconcern
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Then his eyes caught, and held.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Then his eyes caught, and held.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Then his eyes caught, and held.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
curved down like an eagle's beak
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
continuing or enduring without marked change in status or condition or place
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
past form of “shift” — make a shift in or exchange of
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Of his features, the ears were the first to attract a casual glance.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Then attention shifted to his mouth, hooked in a permanent sardonic grimace under his blade of a nose.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His long face was pale, and his ears were large and prominent.
the largest breed of dogs; formerly used to hunt wolves
From this reading Messerschmidt was tall and bony as a wolfhound.
Chapter 3 of The burning world by Algis Budrys holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 183 sentences of The burning world, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The burning world by Algis Budrys exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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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 burning world, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
