Chapter 3 of The Orchid is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Orchid is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
No one had to ask who was meant. "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham. "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury. Fannie Cole shook her head. "Not from anything she said.
Chapter 3 of The Orchid is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “No one had to ask who was meant.”
a hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head
From this reading “Fannie Cole shook her head.”
United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1922)
From this reading “"What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.”
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “"What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.”
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “"What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.”
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “No one had to ask who was meant.”
concerned with actual use or practice
From this reading “"What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “Fannie Cole shook her head.”
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.
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.
any thing at all
From this reading "Not from anything she said.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
a hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head
From this reading Fannie Cole shook her head.
United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1922)
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fannie Cole shook her head.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Not from anything she said.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Fannie Cole shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Fannie Cole shook her head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
not any; not one
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not from anything she said.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
concerned with actual use or practice
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Not from anything she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Not from anything she said.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Fannie Cole shook her head.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
express in words
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "What makes you think so?" asked the practical Miss Marbury.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
which person or people
From this reading No one had to ask who was meant.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs. Cunningham.
Chapter 3 of The Orchid by Robert Grant holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of The Orchid, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Orchid by Robert Grant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Orchid by Robert Grant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1694 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53711 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53711, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 141 minutes of reading across 339 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Orchid section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Orchid 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 Orchid, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
