Chapter 3 of The Secret Martians is here in full — 433 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 Secret Martians is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc. The Amnesty was gone. "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up. "Where are we going?" I demanded.
Chapter 3 of The Secret Martians is here in full — 433 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.
a period during which offenders are exempt from punishment
From this reading “The Amnesty was gone.”
a top worn by women
From this reading “I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.”
an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
From this reading “I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “I demanded.”
sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove
From this reading “I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.”
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “"Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.”
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading “I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.”
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.
come into being or existence, or appear on the scene
In this reading “"Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.”
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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
a period during which offenders are exempt from punishment
From this reading The Amnesty was gone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Where are we going?"
a top worn by women
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading I demanded.
sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
the act of departing
From this reading "Where are we going?"
destroyed or killed
From this reading The Amnesty was gone.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I brought my manacled hands up to my blouse and felt frantically for the red and bronze disc.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Amnesty was gone.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Where are we going?"
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where are we going?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come along, now," said the one who'd helped me up.
Chapter 3 of The Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey holds 433 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 433 sentences of The Secret Martians, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 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 Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3857 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50668 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50668, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Martians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Secret Martians 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 Secret Martians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
