Chapter 11 of Checkmate is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Checkmate is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MEETING. As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased. Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence? There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him. It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
Chapter 11 of Checkmate is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading “Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?”
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading “As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.”
patron saint of Wales (circa 520-600)
From this reading “As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.”
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading “As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.”
made greater in size or amount or degree
From this reading “As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.”
in a close manner
From this reading “There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.”
an event that happens
From this reading “It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?”
of superior grade
From this reading “Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?”
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 “It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?”
In this reading “There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.”
In this reading “As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.”
In this reading “There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.”
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 was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
in addition
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
patron saint of Wales (circa 520-600)
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
made greater in size or amount or degree
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
in a close manner
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading THE MEETING.
the force of workers available
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
an event that happens
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
on the contrary
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
of superior grade
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MEETING.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
in the direction of
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading As David Arden drove towards town, his confusion rather increased.
precisely as stated
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a very strange occurrence; and was not Mr. Longcluse's manner, also, strange?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There were men in the City whom he must know, if not intimately, at least much better than he knew him.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why should Mr. Longcluse select him for this confidence?
Chapter 11 of Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 11 holds 159 sentences of Checkmate, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 11 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 Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9388 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38460 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38460, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1878 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Checkmate section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Checkmate 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 Checkmate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
