Chapter 4 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance." "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?" "No, sir. I should not care to venture such liberal odds." "I knew it.
Chapter 4 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading “"I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."”
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading “I should not care to venture such liberal odds."”
the cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions
From this reading “"Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"”
showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
From this reading “I should not care to venture such liberal odds."”
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading “I should not care to venture such liberal odds."”
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading “"I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."”
exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play
From this reading “"Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"”
any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
From this reading “I should not care to venture such liberal odds."”
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 "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
a persistently annoying person
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading I should not care to venture such liberal odds."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I knew it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
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 "I knew it.
showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
From this reading I should not care to venture such liberal odds."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
not any; not one
From this reading "No, sir.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading I should not care to venture such liberal odds."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
express in words
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I should not care to venture such liberal odds."
term of address for a man
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "I could not say, sir, on such short acquaintance."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
From this reading I should not care to venture such liberal odds."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Will you give me a sporting two to one, Jeeves, judging from what you have seen of him, that this chappie is not a blighter or an excrescence?"
Chapter 4 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 4 holds 440 sentences of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 4 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 Death at the Excelsior, and other stories by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3046 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8176 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8176, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 253 minutes of reading across 610 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Death at the Excelsior, and other stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories 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 Death at the Excelsior, and other stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
