Chapter 3 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JOHN JONES. "I want you!" whispered Nick. How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words! How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound! In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
Chapter 3 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
plural of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading “How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!”
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading “How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!”
United States labor leader (born in Ireland) who helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World (1830-1930)
From this reading “JOHN JONES.”
having or bringing misfortune
From this reading “How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “"I want you!" whispered Nick.”
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading “How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!”
bring forth or yield
From this reading “In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!”
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
the past participle of “be”
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
earlier than; in front of
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
an occurrence of something
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
plural of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I want you!" whispered Nick.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading JOHN JONES.
United States labor leader (born in Ireland) who helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World (1830-1930)
From this reading JOHN JONES.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
having or bringing misfortune
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading "I want you!" whispered Nick.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
a judge of a probate court
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
bring forth or yield
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
move upward
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "I want you!" whispered Nick.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "I want you!" whispered Nick.
the words that are spoken
From this reading How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I want you!" whispered Nick.
Chapter 3 of The Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 127 sentences of The Crime of the French Café and Other, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11989 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11989, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 832 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crime of the French Café and Other section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Crime of the French Café and Other 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 Crime of the French Café and Other, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
