Chapter 3 of The Desert and the Sown is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Desert and the Sown is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“She has always been too strained, too excitable. Every least incident is an emotion with her. When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry. Haven't you noticed that? Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
Chapter 3 of The Desert and the Sown is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.”
any strong feeling
From this reading “Every least incident is an emotion with her.”
easily excited
From this reading ““She has always been too strained, too excitable.”
a single distinct event
From this reading “Every least incident is an emotion with her.”
plural of “laugh” — the sound of laughing
From this reading “When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.”
being perceived or observed
From this reading “Haven't you noticed that?”
to stimulate to action
From this reading “Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading ““She has always been too strained, too excitable.”
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 When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.
any strong feeling
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
easily excited
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Haven't you noticed that?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
a single distinct event
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
the sound of laughing
From this reading When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.
plural of “laugh” — the sound of laughing
From this reading When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.
being perceived or observed
From this reading Haven't you noticed that?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
to stimulate to action
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
lacking natural ease
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Haven't you noticed that?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading “She has always been too strained, too excitable.
precisely as stated
From this reading Startle her, and her eyes are the very eyes of fear.
at the time that
From this reading When she laughs, her laugh is like a cry.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Every least incident is an emotion with her.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Haven't you noticed that?
Chapter 3 of The Desert and the Sown by Mary Hallock Foote holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 425 sentences of The Desert and the Sown, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Desert and the Sown by Mary Hallock Foote exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Desert and the Sown by Mary Hallock Foote on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4731 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8219 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8219, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 394 minutes of reading across 947 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desert and the Sown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Desert and the Sown 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 Desert and the Sown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
