Chapter 3 of The heel of Achilles is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The heel of Achilles is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?” Lydia looked round her, amazed. No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully. “Beef, Lydia?” “Yes, please, Uncle Robert.”
Chapter 3 of The heel of Achilles is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading “No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.”
cattle that are reared for their meat
From this reading ““Beef, Lydia?””
-ing form of “behave” — behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
From this reading “No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.”
out of a sense of duty; in a dutiful manner
From this reading “No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.”
an ancient region on the coast of western Asia Minor; a powerful kingdom until conquered by the Persians in 546 BC
From this reading “Lydia looked round her, amazed.”
an informal use of the Latin word for mother; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously
From this reading ““Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?””
of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive
From this reading ““Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?””
lacking neatness or order
From this reading ““Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?””
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 “Lydia looked round her, amazed.”
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.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading Lydia looked round her, amazed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
cattle that are reared for their meat
From this reading “Beef, Lydia?”
-ing form of “behave” — behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
out of a sense of duty; in a dutiful manner
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lydia looked round her, amazed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Lydia looked round her, amazed.
an ancient region on the coast of western Asia Minor; a powerful kingdom until conquered by the Persians in 546 BC
From this reading Lydia looked round her, amazed.
an informal use of the Latin word for mother; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
not any; not one
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
in other respects or ways
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “Yes, please, Uncle Robert.”
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading “Yes, please, Uncle Robert.”
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Lydia looked round her, amazed.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
lacking neatness or order
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “Yes, please, Uncle Robert.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading No one seemed to think, however, that Beatrice and Olive were behaving otherwise than well and dutifully.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, please, Uncle Robert.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Mater!” said Olive, “how _can_ you be so sloppy?”
Chapter 3 of The heel of Achilles by E. M. Delafield holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 408 sentences of The heel of Achilles, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The heel of Achilles by E. M. Delafield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 heel of Achilles by E. M. Delafield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The heel of Achilles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The heel of Achilles 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 heel of Achilles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
