Chapter 20 of The Benson murder case is here in full — 373 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Benson murder case is here in full — 373 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.) Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing. His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly. His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days. On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
Chapter 20 of The Benson murder case is here in full — 373 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
past form of “droop” — droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness
From this reading “His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.”
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading “His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.”
without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
From this reading “Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.”
Canadian economist best remembered for his humorous writings (1869-1944)
From this reading “Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.”
in a listless manner
From this reading “His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.”
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.”
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading “Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)”
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 “Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.”
In this reading “On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
past form of “droop” — droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness
From this reading His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.
without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.
unbiased impartial unconcern
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
Canadian economist best remembered for his humorous writings (1869-1944)
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
in a listless manner
From this reading His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading His shoulders drooped; his arms hung listlessly.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
in the direction of
From this reading On seeing Major Benson, he straightened a little and, stepping toward him, extended his hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading Vance Cross-examines (Wednesday, June 19; 3.30 p.m.)
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
which person or people
From this reading His eyes were haggard like those of a man who had not slept for days.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Captain Leacock walked into the room with a hopeless indifference of bearing.
Chapter 20 of The Benson murder case by S. S. Van Dine holds 373 sentences, grouped into 75 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 20 holds 373 sentences of The Benson murder case, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Benson murder case by S. S. Van Dine exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 373 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 20 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 Benson murder case by S. S. Van Dine on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6620 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70634 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70634, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 551 minutes of reading across 1324 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Benson murder case section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Benson murder case 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 Benson murder case, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
