Chapter 3 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion. A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west. Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass. And the sidewalks were jammed with people. It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
Chapter 3 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
closed to traffic
From this reading “A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.”
relating to or used in chemistry
From this reading “A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.”
past form of “converge” — be adjacent or come together
From this reading “It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.”
a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
From this reading “A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.”
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading “And the sidewalks were jammed with people.”
possessive form of “morris” — United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
plural of “sidewalk” — walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading “And the sidewalks were jammed with people.”
an automotive vehicle suitable for hauling
From this reading “A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.”
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 “Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.”
at or in the front
In this reading “A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.”
without delay or immediately
In this reading “It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.”
In this reading “A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.”
In this reading “A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.”
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 A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
closed to traffic
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
relating to or used in chemistry
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
past form of “converge” — be adjacent or come together
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
every person
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading And the sidewalks were jammed with people.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
possessive form of “morris” — United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading And the sidewalks were jammed with people.
past form of “pile” — arrange in stacks
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
plural of “sidewalk” — walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading And the sidewalks were jammed with people.
characterized by good substantial quality
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading It looked as if everyone in Brentwood had converged on the spot.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
an automotive vehicle suitable for hauling
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Traffic had piled up behind both of them, in a solid mass.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A SCRAP OF FILM The area in front of Morris’s store was one of vast confusion.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And the sidewalks were jammed with people.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading A hook-and-ladder truck blocked it off from the east and a chemical truck from the west.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And the sidewalks were jammed with people.
Chapter 3 of The Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell holds 295 sentences, grouped into 59 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 295 sentences of The Mystery of the Iron Box, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 295 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4866 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48144, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mystery of the Iron Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Mystery of the Iron Box 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 Mystery of the Iron Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
