Chapter 16 of In the Onyx Lobby is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of In the Onyx Lobby is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!” Richard Bates declared. “I’ll never believe it! Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!” “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
Chapter 16 of In the Onyx Lobby is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
put in effect
From this reading “Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!””
third-person singular of “bate” — moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
From this reading “Richard Bates declared.”
made known or openly avowed
From this reading “Richard Bates declared.”
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading “Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!””
totally unlikely
From this reading “Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!””
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading “Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!””
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading ““But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.”
a solemn statement made under oath
From this reading “Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!””
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.
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 Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
put in effect
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
third-person singular of “bate” — moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
From this reading Richard Bates declared.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “I’ll never believe it!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
made known or openly avowed
From this reading Richard Bates declared.
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
divisible by two
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ll never believe it!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!”
totally unlikely
From this reading Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!”
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I’ll never believe it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “I’ll never believe it!
a human being
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Richard Bates declared.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
a solemn statement made under oath
From this reading Testimony “It’s inconceivable, it’s impossible, it’s incredible!”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Mrs Everett, even if she had the will, could never accomplish such a deed!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But that Kate person could,” Zizi suggested, and Bates turned to her.
Chapter 16 of In the Onyx Lobby by Carolyn Wells holds 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 16 holds 236 sentences of In the Onyx Lobby, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of In the Onyx Lobby by Carolyn Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 16 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 In the Onyx Lobby by Carolyn Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4661 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35254 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35254, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 388 minutes of reading across 933 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Onyx Lobby section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of In the Onyx Lobby 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 In the Onyx Lobby, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
