Chapter 23 of The Bat is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Bat is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She paused, impressively. The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory. But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale. “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears. “Let’s get through with this thing!
Chapter 23 of The Bat is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
characterized by or arising from psychoneurotic hysteria
From this reading ““Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.”
in an impressive manner
From this reading “She paused, impressively.”
apparent validity
From this reading “The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.”
past form of “ravel” — disentangle
From this reading “But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.”
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading “The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.”
-ing form of “tangle” — force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action
From this reading “But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.”
informal terms for clothing
From this reading “But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.”
a region marking a boundary
From this reading ““Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.”
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.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
an open river valley (in a hilly area)
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
declare untrue; contradict
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Let’s get through with this thing!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
characterized by or arising from psychoneurotic hysteria
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
in an impressive manner
From this reading She paused, impressively.
and nothing more
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
immediately past
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Let’s get through with this thing!
for more time
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
not any; not one
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading She paused, impressively.
apparent validity
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
past form of “ravel” — disentangle
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She paused, impressively.
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
-ing form of “tangle” — force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
a special situation
From this reading “Let’s get through with this thing!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
informal terms for clothing
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading “Let’s get through with this thing!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The others stared at her—no longer able to deny the sinister plausibility of her theory.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
a region marking a boundary
From this reading “Oh, call the detective!” she stammered, on the verge of hysterical tears.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
at the time that
From this reading But this new tangling of the mystery, just when the black threads seemed raveled out at last, was almost too much for Dale.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Let’s get through with this thing!
Chapter 23 of The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét holds 203 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 23 holds 203 sentences of The Bat, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 203 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 23 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 The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4997 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2019 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2019, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 416 minutes of reading across 1000 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Bat 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 The Bat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
