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Chapter 3 of Waifs and strays [part 1] is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Waifs and strays [part 1] is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room. And then she came over and cried around me again. It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof. About that time somebody else knocked at the door. “Thank goodness,” I said to myself.
Chapter 3 of Waifs and strays [part 1] is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.”
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading ““Thank goodness,” I said to myself.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “About that time somebody else knocked at the door.”
having a point
From this reading “The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.”
an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
From this reading “It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.”
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading “The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “About that time somebody else knocked at the door.”
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading ““Thank goodness,” I said to myself.”
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 It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
anew
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
any thing at all
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
a young female
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading “Thank goodness,” I said to myself.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading “Thank goodness,” I said to myself.
above and across; more than
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
having a point
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Thank goodness,” I said to myself.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
a person, without saying who
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Thank goodness,” I said to myself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading And then she came over and cried around me again.
a special situation
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading About that time somebody else knocked at the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s a good thing I had enough rubber in me to be water-proof.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading The girl pointed to the door without saying anything, and the dark man left the room.
Chapter 3 of Waifs and strays [part 1] by O. Henry holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 191 sentences of Waifs and strays [part 1], unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Waifs and strays [part 1] by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Waifs and strays [part 1] by O. Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1835 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2295 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2295, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 152 minutes of reading across 367 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Waifs and strays [part 1] section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Waifs and strays [part 1] 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 Waifs and strays [part 1], each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
