Chapter 1 of 813 is here in full — 811 sentences across 163 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of 813 is here in full — 811 sentences across 163 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!" Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air. They rang within him like a knell. Arsène Lupin! The great, the formidable Arsène Lupin.
Chapter 1 of 813 is here in full — 811 sentences across 163 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/162 · 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.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.”
having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
From this reading “Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.”
extremely impressive in strength or excellence
From this reading “The great, the formidable Arsène Lupin.”
ring as in announcing death
From this reading “They rang within him like a knell.”
assign a label to; designate with a label
From this reading “THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"”
any plant of the genus Lupinus; bearing erect spikes of usually purplish-blue flowers
From this reading “THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"”
inflected form of “petrify” — cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned from fright
From this reading “Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “They rang within him like a knell.”
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.
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 They rang within him like a knell.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"
having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
extremely impressive in strength or excellence
From this reading The great, the formidable Arsène Lupin.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The great, the formidable Arsène Lupin.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They rang within him like a knell.
ring as in announcing death
From this reading They rang within him like a knell.
assign a label to; designate with a label
From this reading THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading They rang within him like a knell.
any plant of the genus Lupinus; bearing erect spikes of usually purplish-blue flowers
From this reading THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"
inflected form of “petrify” — cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned from fright
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading They rang within him like a knell.
recurring again and again
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BLUE-EDGED LABEL "Arsène Lupin!"
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They rang within him like a knell.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading They rang within him like a knell.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Gourel repeated these two fateful words with an absolutely petrified air.
Chapter 1 of 813 by Maurice Leblanc holds 811 sentences, grouped into 163 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 1 holds 811 sentences of 813, unabridged, divided into 163 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of 813 by Maurice Leblanc exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 811 sentences, grouped into 163 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 163 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 163 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 1 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 813 by Maurice Leblanc on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12106 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34758 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34758, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2422 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through 813 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of 813 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 813, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
