Chapter 3 of The Story of Doctor Johnson is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Story of Doctor Johnson is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"BOSWELL. 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.' JOHNSON. 'That is very wrong, Sir. Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
Chapter 3 of The Story of Doctor Johnson is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
Scottish author noted for his biography of Samuel Johnson (1740-1795)
From this reading “"BOSWELL.”
the state of being friends (or friendly)
From this reading “'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'”
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading “JOHNSON.”
bestow a quality on
From this reading “'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'”
the property of being narrow; having little width
From this reading “Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.”
plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading “Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.”
determined
From this reading “'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'”
trying something to find out about it
From this reading “'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'”
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 “Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.”
In this reading “'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'”
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 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
Scottish author noted for his biography of Samuel Johnson (1740-1795)
From this reading "BOSWELL.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
the state of being friends (or friendly)
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'That is very wrong, Sir.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading JOHNSON.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
bestow a quality on
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
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 Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
and nothing more
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
the property of being narrow; having little width
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
and nothing more
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
determined
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
term of address for a man
From this reading 'That is very wrong, Sir.
trying something to find out about it
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
precisely as stated
From this reading 'That is very wrong, Sir.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
at the time that
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
in the company of; together with
From this reading 'I have known a man resolved to put friendship to the test, by asking a friend to lend him money merely with that view, when he did not want it.'
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading 'That is very wrong, Sir.
but in spite of that
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your friend may be a narrow man, and yet have many good qualities: narrowness may be his only fault.
Chapter 3 of The Story of Doctor Johnson by S. C. (Sydney Castle) Roberts holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 414 sentences of The Story of Doctor Johnson, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Story of Doctor Johnson by S. C. (Sydney Castle) Roberts exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Story of Doctor Johnson by S. C. (Sydney Castle) Roberts on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2028 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45869 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45869, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 169 minutes of reading across 406 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of Doctor Johnson section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Story of Doctor Johnson 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 Story of Doctor Johnson, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
