Chapter 15 of The Black Box is here in full — 890 sentences across 178 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Black Box is here in full — 890 sentences across 178 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over. Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room. French and Quest were left alone. "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily. "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
Chapter 15 of The Black Box is here in full — 890 sentences across 178 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/178 · 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.
large or big relative to something else
From this reading “"It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."”
past form of “cheat” — deprive somebody of something by deceit
From this reading “JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.”
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading “"This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.”
with gloom
From this reading “"This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.”
a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
From this reading “French and Quest were left alone.”
separated in relationship by a given degree of descent
From this reading “Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.”
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.”
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 "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
Having no one else present.
From this reading French and Quest were left alone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
large or big relative to something else
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
past form of “cheat” — deprive somebody of something by deceit
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
rid of obstructions
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading French and Quest were left alone.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
with gloom
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death)
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading French and Quest were left alone.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
above and across; more than
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
From this reading French and Quest were left alone.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
separated in relationship by a given degree of descent
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is some disappointment," the former remarked gloomily.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JUSTICE CHEATED The first shock was over.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading French and Quest were left alone.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "It is a disappointment," Quest said slowly, "which may clear the way to bigger things."
in the company of; together with
From this reading Craig's body had been removed, and the girls had taken Mary, half stunned with grief, to their room.
Chapter 15 of The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 890 sentences, grouped into 178 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 15 holds 890 sentences of The Black Box, unabridged, divided into 178 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 890 sentences, grouped into 178 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 178 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 178 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 15 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 Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8944 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17197 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17197, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1789 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Black Box 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 Black Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
