Chapter 3 of The Crack of Doom is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Crack of Doom is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE." Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand. The writing was bold, and formed like a man's. There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered. I opened it first.
Chapter 3 of The Crack of Doom is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading “Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.”
surrounded by; in the company of
From this reading “Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.”
fearless and daring
From this reading “The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.”
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading “There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.”
having or given a form or shape
From this reading “The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.”
a distinctive odor that is pleasant
From this reading “There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.”
a just detectable amount
From this reading “There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.”
not known or well known
From this reading “Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.”
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 “Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.”
In this reading “There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.”
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 Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
later than; following
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
possessing life
From this reading "IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE."
surrounded by; in the company of
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE."
fearless and daring
From this reading The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I opened it first.
having or given a form or shape
From this reading The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE."
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE."
the literary culture
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading I opened it first.
a distinctive odor that is pleasant
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE."
a just detectable amount
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
not known or well known
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Amongst the letters lying on my breakfast-table a few days after the meeting was one addressed in an unfamiliar hand.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There was a faint trace of a perfume about the envelope which I remembered.
the act of creating written works
From this reading The writing was bold, and formed like a man's.
Chapter 3 of The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 151 sentences of The Crack of Doom, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3212 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26563 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26563, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 267 minutes of reading across 643 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crack of Doom section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Crack of Doom 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 Crack of Doom, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
