Chapter 3 of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She had drawn close to the hedge. "You really mean it?" she asked. "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress? You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came! You'd be afraid!"
Chapter 3 of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
a female actor
From this reading “"You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?”
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!”
in a courageous manner
From this reading “You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!”
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading “She had drawn close to the hedge.”
avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading “She had drawn close to the hedge.”
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading “"You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?”
-ing form of “stroll” — walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
From this reading “"You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “"You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?”
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 "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
a female actor
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "You really mean it?" she asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
in a courageous manner
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "You really mean it?" she asked.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "You really mean it?" she asked.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading "You really mean it?" she asked.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
-ing form of “stroll” — walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
happening unexpectedly
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had drawn close to the hedge.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
at the time that
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
in the company of; together with
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "You would walk through the streets of this Fairhaven with me--with a barn-stormer, with a strolling actress?
an affirmative
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You really mean it?" she asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You'd be afraid!" she cried, suddenly; "oh, yes, you talk bravely enough, but you'd be afraid, of course, when the time came!
Chapter 3 of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking by James Branch Cabell holds 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 391 sentences of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking by James Branch Cabell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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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Yes. All 4781 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9608 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9608, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 398 minutes of reading across 957 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
