Chapter 3 of The Street Called Straight is here in full — 412 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 Street Called Straight is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him. With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway. "Yes; I'm all right. I only wanted you to know that ... that ... I shall be working rather late.
Chapter 3 of The Street Called Straight is here in full — 412 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.
eagerly desirous
From this reading “It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.”
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading “It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “I shall be working rather late.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.”
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading “With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.”
lacking a crew
From this reading “It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.”
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “I shall be working rather late.”
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 With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
(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 "Yes; I'm all right.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
eagerly desirous
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I shall be working rather late.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
a greyish light (as at dawn or dusk or in dim interiors)
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I only wanted you to know that ... that ...
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes; I'm all right.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I only wanted you to know that ... that ...
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading I shall be working rather late.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
and nothing more
From this reading I only wanted you to know that ... that ...
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
on the contrary
From this reading I shall be working rather late.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Yes; I'm all right.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading I shall be working rather late.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I only wanted you to know that ... that ...
moved around an axis or center
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
lacking a crew
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading I only wanted you to know that ... that ...
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
a Caucasian
From this reading It was the sight of her face, anxious and suddenly white, peering down through the half-light of the hall that finally unmanned him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a heart-sick feeling he turned away from the stairway.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading I shall be working rather late.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes; I'm all right.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I only wanted you to know that ... that ...
Chapter 3 of The Street Called Straight by Basil King holds 412 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 412 sentences of The Street Called Straight, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Street Called Straight by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 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 Street Called Straight by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6982 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14394 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14394, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 581 minutes of reading across 1397 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Street Called Straight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Street Called Straight 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 Street Called Straight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
