Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series is here in full — 515 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series is here in full — 515 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Heyday a Riddle! Neither good nor bad!” KING RICHARD III. iv. 4. Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series is here in full — 515 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/103 · 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.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading “Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.”
the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
From this reading ““Heyday a Riddle!”
not one and not the other of two
From this reading “Neither good nor bad!””
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading “Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.”
pierce with many holes
From this reading ““Heyday a Riddle!”
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading “Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.”
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.”
an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
From this reading “Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.”
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 “Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “Heyday a Riddle!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Neither good nor bad!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Neither good nor bad!”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
From this reading “Heyday a Riddle!
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading KING RICHARD III. iv.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading KING RICHARD III. iv.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading KING RICHARD III. iv.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Neither good nor bad!”
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Neither good nor bad!”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading KING RICHARD III. iv.
pierce with many holes
From this reading “Heyday a Riddle!
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Published August, 1906 WILLIAM BELLAMY At the Sign of the Sphinx Second Series _At the Sign of the Sphinx_ The time has come.
Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series by Carolyn Wells holds 515 sentences, grouped into 103 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 515 sentences of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series by Carolyn Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 515 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series by Carolyn Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 515 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49124 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49124, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 42 minutes of reading across 103 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series 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 At the Sign of the Sphinx. Second Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
