Chapter 3 of The Californians is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Californians is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena. "Uncle Jack!" Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him. Then he dashed across the street. "Good God!" he shouted.
Chapter 3 of The Californians is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading “Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.”
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes
From this reading “Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.”
having gaps or spaces
From this reading “Then he dashed across the street.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.”
a river that rises in the Andes mountains in southwestern Colombia and flows generally northward to empty into the Caribbean Sea at Barranquilla
From this reading “"Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena.”
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.”
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “"Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “"Good God!" he shouted.”
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 Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Then he dashed across the street.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
having gaps or spaces
From this reading Then he dashed across the street.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
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 "Good God!" he shouted.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good God!" he shouted.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he dashed across the street.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
a small worthless amount
From this reading "Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
a river that rises in the Andes mountains in southwestern Colombia and flows generally northward to empty into the Caribbean Sea at Barranquilla
From this reading "Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading "Good God!" he shouted.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Then he dashed across the street.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he dashed across the street.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading "Uncle Jack!" screamed Magdalena.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Colonel Belmont jumped as if a battery had ripped up the ground in front of him.
Chapter 3 of The Californians by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Californians, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Californians by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Californians by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5670 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21903 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21903, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 472 minutes of reading across 1134 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Californians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Californians 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 Californians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
