Chapter XXI of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, “Out of the Frying Pan,” is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXI of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, “Out of the Frying Pan,” is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day. He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs. Abruptly he sat up. It could be the “cook!” Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
Chapter XXI of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, “Out of the Frying Pan,” is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “Abruptly he sat up.”
(boxing) a blow with the fist
From this reading “The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.”
make a clank
From this reading “The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.”
made dim or less bright
From this reading “Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.”
plural of “kink” — a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading “He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.”
fasten with a lock
From this reading “The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.”
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.”
utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired
From this reading “He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.”
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 “The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.”
In this reading “The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.”
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 The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
quickly and without warning
From this reading Abruptly he sat up.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It could be the “cook!”
(boxing) a blow with the fist
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
make a clank
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
prepare a hot meal
From this reading It could be the “cook!”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It could be the “cook!”
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
made dim or less bright
From this reading Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
plural of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It could be the “cook!”
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
plural of “kink” — a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
staying power
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
fasten with a lock
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Abruptly he sat up.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Abruptly he sat up.
at the time that
From this reading Biff’s hopes dimmed when the man entered.
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading The clank of a heavy key in the lock of the door woke Biff the next day.
utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired
From this reading He started to yawn, and stretched the kinks from his shoulders and legs.
Chapter 21 of Mystery of the Chinese Ring by Andy Adams holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 21 holds 195 sentences of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Mystery of the Chinese Ring by Andy Adams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 21 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 Mystery of the Chinese Ring by Andy Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4215 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51608 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51608, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 351 minutes of reading across 843 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mystery of the Chinese Ring section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Mystery of the Chinese Ring 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 Mystery of the Chinese Ring, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
