Chapter 3 of The Cities of the Sun is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Cities of the Sun is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IV. THE TRIUMPH. Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water. Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper. The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
Chapter 3 of The Cities of the Sun is here in full — 404 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.
made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow
From this reading “Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.”
a state of extreme confusion and disorder
From this reading “The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.”
a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
From this reading “Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.”
covered with bright patches (often used in combination)
From this reading “Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.”
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading “The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.”
moving slowly and gently
From this reading “Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.”
filled with a great quantity
From this reading “The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.”
characterized by or performed with much energy or force
From this reading “Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.”
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 “Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.”
In this reading “Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
the lower side of anything
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
a state of extreme confusion and disorder
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
covered with bright patches (often used in combination)
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading IV.
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
in a languid and lethargic manner
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
moving slowly and gently
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
filled with a great quantity
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
characterized by or performed with much energy or force
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE TRIUMPH.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading THE TRIUMPH.
hard to endure
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
look attentively
From this reading Seantum opposite, equally lazy, was doing nothing more strenuous than watch the sunlight on her hair of burnished copper.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
a Caucasian
From this reading Ahah lay languidly back in the boat and dabbled her white hand in the water.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The servant Abish knelt in the bottom of the boat trying to bring order out of the chaos of flowers with which the craft was loaded.
Chapter 3 of The Cities of the Sun by Elizabeth Cannon Porter holds 404 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 404 sentences of The Cities of the Sun, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Cities of the Sun by Elizabeth Cannon Porter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 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 Cities of the Sun by Elizabeth Cannon Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2397 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50955 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50955, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 199 minutes of reading across 480 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cities of the Sun section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Cities of the Sun 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 Cities of the Sun, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
