Chapter 1 of The Betrayal is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Betrayal is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The face was probably a fancy of yours. I should recommend you to forget it." I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes. One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers. To any other man I should have had more to say.
Chapter 1 of The Betrayal is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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 gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus
From this reading “One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.”
push for something
From this reading “I should recommend you to forget it."”
plant growing in the sea, especially marine algae
From this reading “One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.”
a particular situation
From this reading “I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.”
take away possessions from someone
From this reading “One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.”
(usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
From this reading “One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.”
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading “One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.”
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading “One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.”
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 face was probably a fancy of yours.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
a gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading To any other man I should have had more to say.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
something many people believe that is false
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading To any other man I should have had more to say.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading To any other man I should have had more to say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading To any other man I should have had more to say.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading To any other man I should have had more to say.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
push for something
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
express in words
From this reading To any other man I should have had more to say.
plant growing in the sea, especially marine algae
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
a particular situation
From this reading I looked down at his marsh-stained shoes.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
take away possessions from someone
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
(usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading One foot was wet to the ankle, and a thin strip of green seaweed had wound itself around his trousers.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I should recommend you to forget it."
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading "The face was probably a fancy of yours.
Chapter 1 of The Betrayal by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 1 holds 186 sentences of The Betrayal, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Betrayal by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 1 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 Betrayal by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6547 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16998 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16998, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 545 minutes of reading across 1310 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Betrayal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Betrayal 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 Betrayal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
