Chapter 3 of The Three Lovers is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Three Lovers is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh!" It was a cry of disappointment. "Oh, that won't matter." Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke. There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
Chapter 3 of The Three Lovers is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
the residue that remains when something is burned
From this reading “There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.”
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading “There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.”
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading “There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.”
the production of eggs (especially in birds)
From this reading “Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.”
plural of “match” — lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction
From this reading “Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.”
the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art
From this reading “Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.”
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 “There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.”
at or in the front
In this reading “There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.”
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 It was a cry of disappointment.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
(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 There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
the residue that remains when something is burned
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading It was a cry of disappointment.
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading It was a cry of disappointment.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
start firing a weapon
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a cry of disappointment.
the production of eggs (especially in birds)
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
plural of “match” — lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "Oh, that won't matter."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was a cry of disappointment.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh!"
above and across; more than
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Amy was laying down her palette and searching for matches as she spoke.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Oh, that won't matter."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was cigarette ash all over the hearth in front of her little gas fire, and ash was scattered across the floor.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a cry of disappointment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, that won't matter."
Chapter 3 of The Three Lovers by Frank Swinnerton holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 426 sentences of The Three Lovers, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Three Lovers by Frank Swinnerton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Three Lovers by Frank Swinnerton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7752 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63479 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63479, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1551 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Three Lovers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Three Lovers 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 Three Lovers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
