Chapter 3 of The Problem Club is here in full — 423 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 Problem Club is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen. My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen. Did you beat that, Wildersley?’ That large but child-like artist smiled. ‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’
Chapter 3 of The Problem Club is here in full — 423 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.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading “That large but child-like artist smiled.”
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading “Did you beat that, Wildersley?’”
having or marked by unusual and impressive intelligence
From this reading “‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.”
an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
From this reading “‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’”
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading “My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one
From this reading “‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.”
no person; not anyone
From this reading “My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.”
a number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance)
From this reading “‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.”
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 “My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.”
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 ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading That large but child-like artist smiled.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading Did you beat that, Wildersley?’
on the far side of; further than
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
having or marked by unusual and impressive intelligence
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That large but child-like artist smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That large but child-like artist smiled.
an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
From this reading ‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did you beat that, Wildersley?’
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
being four more than forty
From this reading ‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’
the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
ten 10s
From this reading ‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading That large but child-like artist smiled.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
no person; not anyone
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ‘I claim a score of one hundred and forty-four.’
a separate part of a whole
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
a number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance)
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading That large but child-like artist smiled.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Did you beat that, Wildersley?’
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading ‘Brainy piece of work, and a fair score of fourteen.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading My idea was that nobody would get beyond fifteen.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you beat that, Wildersley?’
Chapter 3 of The Problem Club by Barry Pain holds 423 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 423 sentences of The Problem Club, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Problem Club by Barry Pain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 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 Problem Club by Barry Pain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2152 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75598 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75598, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 431 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Problem Club section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Problem Club 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 Problem Club, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
