Chapter 3 of Venus Boy is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Venus Boy is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands. "I'm hungry," the little bear clicked. With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree. "Baba," Johnny called. The little bear bounced back.
Chapter 3 of Venus Boy is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
graceful Old World ruminant with long legs and horns directed upward and backward; includes gazelles; springboks; impalas; addax; gerenuks; blackbucks; dik-diks
From this reading “"I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.”
a small cake leavened with yeast
From this reading “"Baba," Johnny called.”
spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading “With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.”
past form of “bounce” — spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading “The little bear bounced back.”
past form of “click” — move or strike with a noise
From this reading “"I'm hungry," the little bear clicked.”
rural regions
From this reading “"I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.”
inferior in size or quality
From this reading “With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.”
closely encircling
From this reading “"I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.”
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.
be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful
In this reading “"I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.”
In this reading “With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.”
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 With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
graceful Old World ruminant with long legs and horns directed upward and backward; includes gazelles; springboks; impalas; addax; gerenuks; blackbucks; dik-diks
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
a small cake leavened with yeast
From this reading "Baba," Johnny called.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The little bear bounced back.
have
From this reading "I'm hungry," the little bear clicked.
spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
past form of “bounce” — spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading The little bear bounced back.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Baba," Johnny called.
past form of “click” — move or strike with a noise
From this reading "I'm hungry," the little bear clicked.
rural regions
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading "I'm hungry," the little bear clicked.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm hungry," the little bear clicked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading "Baba," Johnny called.
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
and nothing more
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
above and across; more than
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
inferior in size or quality
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
closely encircling
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "I think I understand," he said, and looked out over the surrounding countryside, thinking about the little antelope he had just held in his hands.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a jump and a bounce he started for the stunted diamond-wood tree.
Chapter 3 of Venus Boy by Lee Sutton holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 427 sentences of Venus Boy, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Venus Boy by Lee Sutton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Venus Boy by Lee Sutton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3860 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Venus Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Venus Boy 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 Venus Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
