Chapter 3 of The Oxford Book of Ballads is here in full — 28 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Oxford Book of Ballads is here in full — 28 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
69. The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70. Fause Foodrage 308 71. The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72. Young John 318 73.
Chapter 3 of The Oxford Book of Ballads is here in full — 28 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading “The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “Young John 318 73.”
a female domestic
From this reading “The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70.”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “Young John 318 73.”
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 “The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fause Foodrage 308 71.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young John 318 73.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 69.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fause Foodrage 308 71.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young John 318 73.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fause Foodrage 308 71.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fause Foodrage 308 71.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Young John 318 73.
a female domestic
From this reading The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70.
the northernmost county of England; has many Roman remains (including Hadrian's Wall)
From this reading The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Fair Flower of Northumberland 314 72.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Nut-Brown Maid 295 70.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Young John 318 73.
Chapter 3 of The Oxford Book of Ballads by Arthur [Editor] Quiller-Couch holds 28 sentences, grouped into 6 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 28 sentences of The Oxford Book of Ballads, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Oxford Book of Ballads by Arthur [Editor] Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 28 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 Oxford Book of Ballads by Arthur [Editor] Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7181 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44593 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44593, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 598 minutes of reading across 1437 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Oxford Book of Ballads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Oxford Book of Ballads 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 Oxford Book of Ballads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
