Chapter 3 of The Starbucks is here in full — 230 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 Starbucks is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GETTING ACQUAINTED. In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them. Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair. She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down. And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
Chapter 3 of The Starbucks is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
having fair knowledge of
From this reading “GETTING ACQUAINTED.”
a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria
From this reading “She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.”
possessive form of “fire” — the event of something burning (often destructive)
From this reading “She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.”
garments (clothes or linens) that are to be (or have been) ironed
From this reading “She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.”
metal shackles; for hands or legs
From this reading “And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.”
a son of your brother or sister
From this reading “In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.”
someone whose occupation is preaching the gospel
From this reading “In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.”
-ing form of “rock” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.”
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 Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
having fair knowledge of
From this reading GETTING ACQUAINTED.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
clothing in general
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
remove the dust from
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
possessive form of “fire” — the event of something burning (often destructive)
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading GETTING ACQUAINTED.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
in an industrious manner
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
garments (clothes or linens) that are to be (or have been) ironed
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
metal shackles; for hands or legs
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
an offensive term for a Black nursemaid in the southern U.S.
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
a son of your brother or sister
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
someone whose occupation is preaching the gospel
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
-ing form of “rock” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Margaret began industriously to dust a rocking chair.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She bade them come in, if it were not too warm, "Mammy has been ironing but the fire's dyin' down.
in the company of; together with
From this reading In came Mrs. Mayfield and her nephew, with Jim, the preacher, following them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And I do hope she irons yo' clothes to suit you, Miz Mayfield," she added.
Chapter 3 of The Starbucks by Opie Percival Read holds 230 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 230 sentences of The Starbucks, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Starbucks by Opie Percival Read exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 230 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 Starbucks by Opie Percival Read on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4257 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18984 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18984, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 354 minutes of reading across 852 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Starbucks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Starbucks 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 Starbucks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
