Chapter 3 of Undertow is here in full — 415 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 Undertow is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him. "Well--I'll see. I'll let you know. Come on, kids!" And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
Chapter 3 of Undertow is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 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.
United States politician who was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles (1917-1998)
From this reading “And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.”
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “"Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.”
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “"Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.”
a social unit living together
From this reading “And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.”
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading “"Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.”
plural of “kid” — a young person of either sex
From this reading “Come on, kids!"”
put in the mind of someone
From this reading “"Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.”
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 "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
United States politician who was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles (1917-1998)
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come on, kids!"
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
a social unit living together
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well--I'll see.
plural of “kid” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Come on, kids!"
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading I'll let you know.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Come on, kids!"
put in the mind of someone
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Well--I'll see.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
(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--I'll see.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading And the Bradley family would walk away, not too hastily, but without looking back.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Yes, I know, you told me about his dropping dead," Bert would hastily remind him.
Chapter 3 of Undertow by Kathleen Thompson Norris holds 415 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 415 sentences of Undertow, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Undertow by Kathleen Thompson Norris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 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 Undertow by Kathleen Thompson Norris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2059 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4916 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4916, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 171 minutes of reading across 412 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Undertow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Undertow 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 Undertow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
