Chapter 3 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I guess this is our diggings. We'll have to make the best of it.” Then he disappeared. Fuselli looked about him. He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
Chapter 3 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
(used in the plural) the stage of a theater
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
plural of “bunk” — a long trough for feeding cattle
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “Then he disappeared.”
lowest in rank or importance
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
a coniferous tree
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
plural of “tier” — a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
From this reading “He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Fuselli looked about him.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
(used in the plural) the stage of a theater
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
plural of “bunk” — a long trough for feeding cattle
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
an excavation for ore or precious stones or for archaeology
From this reading “I guess this is our diggings.
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading Then he disappeared.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fuselli looked about him.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “I guess this is our diggings.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he disappeared.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Fuselli looked about him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I guess this is our diggings.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I guess this is our diggings.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Fuselli looked about him.
lowest in rank or importance
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
engage in
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “I guess this is our diggings.
a coniferous tree
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he disappeared.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I guess this is our diggings.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
plural of “tier” — a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was sitting in one of the lowest of three tiers of bunks roughly built of new pine boards.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'll have to make the best of it.”
Chapter 3 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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.
Chapter 3 holds 411 sentences of Three Soldiers, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10744 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6362 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6362, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2149 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Three Soldiers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Three Soldiers 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 Three Soldiers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
