Chapter 3 of The Stolen Brain is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Stolen Brain is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN APPALLING SIGHT. They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard. Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened. The ruse seemed to have worked so far. It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
Chapter 3 of The Stolen Brain is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
an experience that appalls
From this reading “AN APPALLING SIGHT.”
a disorderly outburst or tumult
From this reading “They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.”
plural of “occupant” — someone who lives at a particular place for a prolonged period or who was born there
From this reading “Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.”
a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture)
From this reading “The ruse seemed to have worked so far.”
-ing form of “scuffle” — walk by dragging one's feet
From this reading “They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.”
moving with great haste
From this reading “Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.”
with success; in a successful manner
From this reading “It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.”
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 together
In this reading “They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.”
In this reading “They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.”
be shown or be found to be
In this reading “It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.”
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 They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN APPALLING SIGHT.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
an experience that appalls
From this reading AN APPALLING SIGHT.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
a disorderly outburst or tumult
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The ruse seemed to have worked so far.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The ruse seemed to have worked so far.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
plural of “occupant” — someone who lives at a particular place for a prolonged period or who was born there
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture)
From this reading The ruse seemed to have worked so far.
-ing form of “scuffle” — walk by dragging one's feet
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
moving with great haste
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The ruse seemed to have worked so far.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading AN APPALLING SIGHT.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The ruse seemed to have worked so far.
with success; in a successful manner
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Evidently the occupants were scurrying to the front to see what had happened.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The ruse seemed to have worked so far.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It remained to be seen how successfully the rest would turn out.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading They heard a commotion in Grantley’s house, and the scuffling of many feet as they ran across the yard.
Chapter 3 of The Stolen Brain by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 66 sentences, grouped into 14 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 66 sentences of The Stolen Brain, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Stolen Brain by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 66 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 Stolen Brain by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4124 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66740 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66740, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 343 minutes of reading across 825 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Stolen Brain section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Stolen Brain 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 Stolen Brain, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
