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The Touchstone
The Touchstone

Chapter III · Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of The Touchstone is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Touchstone
Context Illustration Reading 1/40 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
I see.
Was he--well, no matter.
You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.
What are you going to do with them?”
Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Touchstone

Chapter III · Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of The Touchstone is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/40 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
I see.
Line 2
Was he--well, no matter.
Line 3
You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.
Line 4
What are you going to do with them?”
Line 5
Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Stood verb US /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading “Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.”

All words in this reading · 32

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

any

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

are

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

be

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

bones

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

congratulated

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

do

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

Glennard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

going

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

he

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Was he--well, no matter.

his

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I see.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

matter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Was he--well, no matter.

no

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Was he--well, no matter.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

rate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

see

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I see.

sense

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

stoodverbUS /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

them

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

up

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

Was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Was he--well, no matter.

weariness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Glennard stood up with a sense of weariness in all his bones.

well

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Was he--well, no matter.

What

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

you

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What are you going to do with them?”

You're

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You’re to be congratulated, at any rate.

Chapter 3 of The Touchstone by Edith Wharton holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 3 of The Touchstone contain?

Chapter 3 holds 202 sentences of The Touchstone, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 3 of The Touchstone by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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.

How do I study chapter 3 of The Touchstone?

Work through the 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 41 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.

Can chapter 3 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Touchstone

Common questions about reading The Touchstone by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Touchstone?

Yes. All 1596 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #267 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Touchstone is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #267, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Touchstone take to read?

About 133 minutes of reading across 320 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Touchstone section by section

How to work through The Touchstone section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Touchstone to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Touchstone

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Touchstone, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Professor
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Touchstone; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Joslin
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Touchstone; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Readers
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Touchstone; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Doubtless
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Touchstone; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.