Chapter VII of A silent witness, “An Unseen Enemy,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter VII of A silent witness, “An Unseen Enemy,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure. “Is Batson always like that?” Thorndyke asked. “Always,” I replied. “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
Chapter VII of A silent witness, “An Unseen Enemy,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading “From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.”
a rapid active commotion
From this reading ““Hurry and bustle are his normal states.””
the act of departing
From this reading “From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.”
in a dim indistinct manner
From this reading “From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading ““Hurry and bustle are his normal states.””
conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
From this reading ““Hurry and bustle are his normal states.””
possessive form of “principal” — the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading ““Hurry and bustle are his normal states.””
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 ““Hurry and bustle are his normal states.””
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.
(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 From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading “Is Batson always like that?”
pleasantly occupied
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Thorndyke asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is Batson always like that?”
a rapid active commotion
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
the act of departing
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
in a dim indistinct manner
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is Batson always like that?”
lighted by a lamp
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Is Batson always like that?”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
possessive form of “principal” — the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
with speed
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “Always,” I replied.
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading “Hurry and bustle are his normal states.”
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Is Batson always like that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thorndyke asked.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading From my late principal’s house we walked away quickly down the lamplit street, all, I think, dimly amused at the circumstances of our departure.
Chapter 7 of A silent witness by R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 7 holds 202 sentences of A silent witness, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of A silent witness by R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 7 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 A silent witness by R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5700 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76796 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76796, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 475 minutes of reading across 1140 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A silent witness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of A silent witness 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 A silent witness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
