Chapter 5 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril. "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit. "What's that?" barked old Blumenfield. "Do you understand that this boy is my son?" "Yes, I do," said Cyril.
Chapter 5 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
informal intensifiers
From this reading “"I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.”
past form of “bark” — speak in an unfriendly tone
From this reading “"What's that?" barked old Blumenfield.”
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading “"I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.”
Greek missionary; the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed to him (826-869)
From this reading “"You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.”
-ing form of “gurgle” — flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
From this reading “"I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.”
bulge outward
From this reading “"You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.”
dependable
From this reading “"You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.”
-ing form of “waggle” — move from side to side
From this reading “"You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.”
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 "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
informal intensifiers
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
past form of “bark” — speak in an unfriendly tone
From this reading "What's that?" barked old Blumenfield.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's that?" barked old Blumenfield.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Do you understand that this boy is my son?"
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
a young person of either sex
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
Greek missionary; the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed to him (826-869)
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do you understand that this boy is my son?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
-ing form of “gurgle” — flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Do you understand that this boy is my son?"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "What's that?" barked old Blumenfield.
bulge outward
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
in a reproving or reproachful manner
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
a male human offspring
From this reading "Do you understand that this boy is my son?"
dependable
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "What's that?" barked old Blumenfield.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Do you understand that this boy is my son?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "Do you understand that this boy is my son?"
-ing form of “waggle” — move from side to side
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "I don't want any bally cheek from you!" said Cyril, gurgling a bit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's that?" barked old Blumenfield.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, I do," said Cyril.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You got to work good for my pop!" said the stout child, waggling his head reprovingly at Cyril.
Chapter 5 of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 5 holds 434 sentences of Death at the Excelsior, and other stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 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 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 5 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.
