Chapter 3 of The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 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 Railroaders Tales of Adventure is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction! Alex clenched his hands. After all, what could he do? To restore the line was entirely out of the question. Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
Chapter 3 of The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading “Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.”
closed or squeezed together tightly
From this reading “Alex clenched his hands.”
a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic
From this reading “Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.”
plural of “pole” — a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic
From this reading “Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!”
return to its original or usable and functioning condition
From this reading “To restore the line was entirely out of the question.”
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading “Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.”
plural of “wire” — ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After all, what could he do?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alex clenched his hands.
(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 After all, what could he do?
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
terminate
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
closed or squeezed together tightly
From this reading Alex clenched his hands.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading After all, what could he do?
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading After all, what could he do?
one or the other of two
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Alex clenched his hands.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading After all, what could he do?
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Alex clenched his hands.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
plural of “pole” — a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
return to its original or usable and functioning condition
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
in or at that place or location
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To restore the line was entirely out of the question.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading After all, what could he do?
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading Had there been but one break he could not have climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.
plural of “wire” — ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction!
Chapter 3 of The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure by Francis Lovell Coombs holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure by Francis Lovell Coombs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Railroaders Tales of Adventure by Francis Lovell Coombs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5692 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25868 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25868, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 474 minutes of reading across 1139 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Young Railroaders Tales of Adventure 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 Railroaders Tales of Adventure, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
