Chapter 3 of The Iris is here in full — 64 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Iris is here in full — 64 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We must go back two days before this incident occurred. In a large wigwam were two persons. The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat. The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair. No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
Chapter 3 of The Iris is here in full — 64 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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 “eyelid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.”
a single distinct event
From this reading “We must go back two days before this incident occurred.”
a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
From this reading “The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.”
past form of “moisten” — make moist
From this reading “No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.”
heavily burdened with work or cares
From this reading “No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.”
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading “No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.”
separate or cause to separate abruptly
From this reading “No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.”
a Native American lodge frequently having an oval shape and covered with bark or hides
From this reading “In a large wigwam were two persons.”
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 “We must go back two days before this incident occurred.”
In this reading “The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.”
belong to an earlier time
In this reading “We must go back two days before this incident occurred.”
In this reading “The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.”
In this reading “In a large wigwam were two persons.”
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 In a large wigwam were two persons.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
lacking in variety and interest
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
plural of “eyelid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a large wigwam were two persons.
a single distinct event
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading In a large wigwam were two persons.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
past form of “moisten” — make moist
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
not any; not one
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
heavily burdened with work or cares
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading In a large wigwam were two persons.
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
separate or cause to separate abruptly
From this reading No tear moistened the colourless eyelids, no sigh relieved the overburdened heart.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We must go back two days before this incident occurred.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In a large wigwam were two persons.
a Caucasian
From this reading The white lips and the black shadows beneath the eyes, told of watchings and despair.
a Native American lodge frequently having an oval shape and covered with bark or hides
From this reading In a large wigwam were two persons.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The one, a young, pale woman, seated on a mat.
Chapter 3 of The Iris by John S. (John Seely) [Editor] Hart holds 64 sentences, grouped into 13 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 64 sentences of The Iris, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Iris by John S. (John Seely) [Editor] Hart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 64 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 Iris by John S. (John Seely) [Editor] Hart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2965 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55942 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55942, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 593 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Iris section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Iris 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 Iris, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
