Chapter 3 of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I groaned and turned over to the other side. “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend. This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you. Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits? Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
Chapter 3 of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.”
of or relating to or characteristic of epilepsy
From this reading “Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?”
chemical process in which one atom or ion or group changes places with another
From this reading “Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.”
plural of “fit” — a display of bad temper
From this reading “Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?”
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “I groaned and turned over to the other side.”
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
From this reading “Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.”
relatively permanent disorder of the mind
From this reading “Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.”
like better; value more highly
From this reading “Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.”
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 Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
of or relating to or characteristic of epilepsy
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
chemical process in which one atom or ion or group changes places with another
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
plural of “fit” — a display of bad temper
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
relatively permanent disorder of the mind
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
above and across; more than
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
like better; value more highly
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading I groaned and turned over to the other side.
except if; if not
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was it broken through D. T. or epileptic fits?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading This engagement has to be broken off; and the Mannerings don’t want to be too hard on you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sorry I can’t offer you a better exchange unless you’d prefer hereditary insanity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Now you’ve got your choice, my friend.
Chapter 3 of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost by Rudyard Kipling holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 196 sentences of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2652 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2806 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2806, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 221 minutes of reading across 531 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost 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 Phantom 'Rickshaw, and Other Ghost, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
