Chapter 3 of The Man of the Desert is here in full — 422 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 Man of the Desert is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way. Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day. He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath. Horses do that sometimes. It is their instinct.
Chapter 3 of The Man of the Desert is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “"We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.”
a low evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae; has small bell-shaped pink or purple flowers
From this reading “He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.”
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading “It is their instinct.”
characteristic of or existing by virtue of geographic origin
From this reading “He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.”
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading “"We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.”
the acquisition of something for payment
From this reading “He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.”
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading “"We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.”
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading “He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.”
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 "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
characterized by great determination
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Horses do that sometimes.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
a low evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae; has small bell-shaped pink or purple flowers
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Horses do that sometimes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading It is their instinct.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is their instinct.
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 "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
characteristic of or existing by virtue of geographic origin
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
above and across; more than
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
the acquisition of something for payment
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He is evidently a new purchase of Shag's and bent on returning to his native heath.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Horses do that sometimes.
carry out
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Horses do that sometimes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It is their instinct.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We are at least forty miles from the railroad," he smiled back at her, "and the road is rough, over a mountain by the nearest way.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your horse must have been determined indeed to take you so far in one day.
Chapter 3 of The Man of the Desert by Grace Livingston Hill holds 422 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 422 sentences of The Man of the Desert, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Man of the Desert by Grace Livingston Hill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 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 Man of the Desert by Grace Livingston Hill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2916 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21633 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21633, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 243 minutes of reading across 584 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man of the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Man of the Desert 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 Man of the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
