Chapter 3 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You’re out of step, Mol! Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!" She dug her toes into the wall and looked over. "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called. Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
Chapter 3 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
an udder or breast or teat
From this reading “She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.”
a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
From this reading “Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"”
the molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams; the basic unit of amount of substance adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “"You’re out of step, Mol!”
pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading “Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.”
obscene terms for female genitals
From this reading “Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"”
plural of “toe” — one of the digits of the foot
From this reading “She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.”
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.”
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading “"Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.”
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 “Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.”
In this reading “She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.”
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 Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
later than; following
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
an unidentified (and possibly enemy) aircraft
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
an udder or breast or teat
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
the molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams; the basic unit of amount of substance adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading "You’re out of step, Mol!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You’re out of step, Mol!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "You’re out of step, Mol!
above and across; more than
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
obscene terms for female genitals
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
cut with a saw
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading "You’re out of step, Mol!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
plural of “toe” — one of the digits of the foot
From this reading She dug her toes into the wall and looked over.
in the direction of
From this reading Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Sheila Pat turned and trotted towards the house.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading "Can you give me that wicked little black bogy?" she called.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Kate Kearney, I saw you leap the wall after a poor pussy!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You’re out of step, Mol!
Chapter 3 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 402 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8807 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45324, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1762 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Young O'Briens section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Young O'Briens 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 Young O'Briens, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
