Chapter 3 of The silent invaders is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The silent invaders is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city. Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there. It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music. A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street. Harris crossed to him.
Chapter 3 of The silent invaders is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
resembling the sound of a brass instrument
From this reading “It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.”
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading “It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.”
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading “Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.”
having services engaged for a fee
From this reading “Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.”
a metal post supporting an outdoor lamp (such as a streetlight)
From this reading “A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.”
a spot that is open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink
From this reading “It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.”
being in force or having or exerting force
From this reading “The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.”
the compass point midway between south and east; at 135 degrees
From this reading “A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.”
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.
rest on for support
In this reading “A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.”
the intersection of two streets
In this reading “The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.”
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 The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
resembling the sound of a brass instrument
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
placed crosswise
From this reading Harris crossed to him.
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
having services engaged for a fee
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
a metal post supporting an outdoor lamp (such as a streetlight)
From this reading A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
a spot that is open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink
From this reading It was a nightclub district, all bright lights and brassy music.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.
being in force or having or exerting force
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
one of four equal parts
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
the compass point midway between south and east; at 135 degrees
From this reading A figure leaned against the lamppost on the southeast corner of the street.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
carry out
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Harris hired a helitaxi to take him there.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The rendezvous-point the other operative had named was a street corner in another quarter of the city.
Chapter 3 of The silent invaders by Robert Silverberg holds 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 229 sentences of The silent invaders, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The silent invaders by Robert Silverberg exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 silent invaders by Robert Silverberg on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The silent invaders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The silent invaders 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 silent invaders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
