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 servants shall have a good look round." "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly. "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well." So they meant to treat me like a child. I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
Chapter 1 of The Betrayal is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 4/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 16–20
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 “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.”
something many people believe that is false
From this reading “"It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."”
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “"The servants shall have a good look round."”
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading “I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.”
in a soothing manner
From this reading “"I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.”
interact in a certain way
From this reading “So they meant to treat me like a child.”
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading “"I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.”
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 servants shall have a good look round."
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
a young person of either sex
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
something many people believe that is false
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
in a soothing manner
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The servants shall have a good look round."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
interact in a certain way
From this reading So they meant to treat me like a child.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I said nothing, but it was a long time before my limbs ceased to shake.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
at the time that
From this reading "It is easy to fancy things when one is not well."
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I would not worry about it," Lady Angela said, soothingly.
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.
