Chapter 3 of The Valley of Content is here in full — 266 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Valley of Content is here in full — 266 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him. He bit into it hugely with satisfaction. “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind. Shoot!” “Hugh, dear!”
Chapter 3 of The Valley of Content is here in full — 266 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
United States artist whose paintings portrayed life in the Midwest and South (1889-1975)
From this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
a beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar; usually drunk hot
From this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
extremely
From this reading “He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.”
a small quantity of anything
From this reading ““Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.”
a separate part of a whole
From this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation
From this reading “He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.”
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “Shoot!””
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.
cake containing chocolate
In this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
In this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense
In this reading “Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.”
In this reading “He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.”
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 Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
United States artist whose paintings portrayed life in the Midwest and South (1889-1975)
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
a beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar; usually drunk hot
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
dearly loved
From this reading “Hugh, dear!”
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
extremely
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
a small quantity of anything
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading Shoot!”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
acceptable to the taste or mind
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
in the direction of
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Hugh Benton reached out and took a large piece of the chocolate cake which his wife held toward him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He bit into it hugely with satisfaction.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Well, little one,” he said, his mouth full of the toothsome morsel, “let’s hear what’s on your mind.
Chapter 3 of The Valley of Content by Blanche Upright holds 266 sentences, grouped into 54 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 266 sentences of The Valley of Content, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Valley of Content by Blanche Upright exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 266 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 Valley of Content by Blanche Upright on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67728, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 524 minutes of reading across 1259 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Valley of Content section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Valley of Content 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 Valley of Content, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
