Chapter 3 of Whispering Tongues is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Whispering Tongues is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BEFORE THE FACULTY. For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred. The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all. Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again. He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
Chapter 3 of Whispering Tongues is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
covered or wrapped with a bandage
From this reading “Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.”
one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
From this reading “BEFORE THE FACULTY.”
denoting a quantity consisting of six items or units
From this reading “Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.”
the temporary provision of money (usually at interest)
From this reading “For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.”
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading “He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.”
past form of “pounce” — move down on as if in an attack
From this reading “Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.”
not covered with clothing
From this reading “For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.”
plural of “wrist” — a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
From this reading “Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.”
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.
In this reading “Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.”
In this reading “For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.”
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 Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
later than; following
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
anew
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
covered or wrapped with a bandage
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading BEFORE THE FACULTY.
confined by bonds
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
From this reading BEFORE THE FACULTY.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
denoting a quantity consisting of six items or units
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
the temporary provision of money (usually at interest)
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
the force of workers available
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
not any; not one
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
past form of “pounce” — move down on as if in an attack
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BEFORE THE FACULTY.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
not covered with clothing
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading The act had been so sudden and unexpected that it startled them all.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading For an instant after Van Loan had uncovered Parmenter no one stirred.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was thoroughly helpless now, but the mischief had been done.
plural of “wrist” — a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
From this reading Then a half-dozen men pounced upon Van Loan, bound his wrists, and bandaged his eyes again.
Chapter 3 of Whispering Tongues by Homer Greene holds 175 sentences, grouped into 35 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 175 sentences of Whispering Tongues, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Whispering Tongues by Homer Greene exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 175 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 Whispering Tongues by Homer Greene on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1290 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46528 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46528, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 107 minutes of reading across 258 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Whispering Tongues section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Whispering Tongues 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 Whispering Tongues, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
