Chapter 11 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...” “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.” But everybody had taken up the song. Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling. “If he ain't the damnedest,” he thought to himself.
Chapter 11 of Three Soldiers is here in full — 418 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.
The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading ““O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...””
remove the dust from
From this reading ““O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...””
every person
From this reading “But everybody had taken up the song.”
occurring by chance
From this reading ““Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.””
being perceived or observed
From this reading “Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.”
a short musical composition with words
From this reading “But everybody had taken up the song.”
shining with brilliant points of light like stars
From this reading “Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.”
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “But everybody had taken up the song.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.
The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading “O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If he ain't the damnedest,” he thought to himself.
remove the dust from
From this reading “O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...”
every person
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “If he ain't the damnedest,” he thought to himself.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “If he ain't the damnedest,” he thought to himself.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If he ain't the damnedest,” he thought to himself.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
occurring by chance
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
being perceived or observed
From this reading Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...”
a short musical composition with words
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
shining with brilliant points of light like stars
From this reading Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Can that,” cried Judkins, “it ain't lucky.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “If he ain't the damnedest,” he thought to himself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “O ashes to ashes An' dust to dust...”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading But everybody had taken up the song.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Chrisfield noticed that Andrews's eyes were sparkling.
Chapter 11 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 11 holds 418 sentences of Three Soldiers, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 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 11 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.
