Chapter 23 of The Benson murder case is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Benson murder case is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.) Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning. He was in bad humor. “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.” “Eat your melon, old dear,” said Vance.
Chapter 23 of The Benson murder case is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading “Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.”
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading “He was in bad humor.”
any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard rind and sweet juicy flesh
From this reading ““Eat your melon, old dear,” said Vance.”
plural of “outline” — the line that appears to bound an object
From this reading “Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)”
the act of departing politely
From this reading ““Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.””
with little or no delay
From this reading “Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.”
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 “Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)”
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading “Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.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 “Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.”
In this reading “He was in bad humor.”
In this reading ““Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.””
In this reading ““Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.””
In this reading ““Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.””
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 Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading He was in bad humor.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
dearly loved
From this reading “Eat your melon, old dear,” said Vance.
take in solid food
From this reading “Eat your melon, old dear,” said Vance.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was in bad humor.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading He was in bad humor.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was in bad humor.
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
immediately past
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard rind and sweet juicy flesh
From this reading “Eat your melon, old dear,” said Vance.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
according to the clock
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Eat your melon, old dear,” said Vance.
plural of “outline” — the line that appears to bound an object
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
the act of departing politely
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
with little or no delay
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
in the near future
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
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 Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance Outlines a Theory (Thursday, June 20; 9 a.m.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Markham came to Vance’s apartment at promptly nine o’clock the next morning.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was in bad humor.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
the words that are spoken
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Now, see here, Vance,” he said, as soon as he was seated at the table; “I want to know what was the meaning of your parting words last night.”
Chapter 23 of The Benson murder case by S. S. Van Dine holds 356 sentences, grouped into 72 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 23 holds 356 sentences of The Benson murder case, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Benson murder case by S. S. Van Dine exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 356 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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.
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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.
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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.
