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The Circular Staircase
The Circular Staircase

Chapter XXVIII · Chapter 28

Chapter 28 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Circular Staircase
Context Illustration Reading 1/31 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders Bank seemed to grow with time.
Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.
The Traders had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.
People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.
All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Circular Staircase

Chapter XXVIII · Chapter 28

Chapter 28 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the TradersBank seemed to grow with time.
Line 2
Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.
Line 3
The Tradershad been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.
Line 4
People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.
Line 5
All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Avarice noun US /ˈæv.ər.ɪs/

Extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

From this reading “Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.”

Memory noun US /ˈmem.ər.i/

The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.

From this reading “Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.”

All words in this reading · 82

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.

A

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

All

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

AND

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

avaricenounUS /ˈæv.ər.ɪs/

Extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

away

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

Bank

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

be

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

been

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

bitterness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

but

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

by

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

cent

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

confronting

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

constantly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

dead

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

department

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

deposits

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

directors

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

disgust

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

dollar

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

element

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

execrated

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

failures

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

favorite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

filled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

found

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

grasping

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

grow

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

have

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

hearing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

his

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

however

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

hundred

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

it

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

its

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

last

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

lost

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

man's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

memorynounUS /ˈmem.ər.i/

The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

Never

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

new

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

nothing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

or

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

people

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

per

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

poorhouse

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

popular

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

president

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

promise

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

savings

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

seemed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

self-supporting

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

small

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

smallest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

solicited

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

stories

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

THE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

their

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

themselves

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

this

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

thought

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

three

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

time

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

TOOTHACHE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

toward

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

Traders

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

tradespeople

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Traders’ had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings department it had solicited the smallest deposits.

TRAMP

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

trying

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

twenty

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All bank failures have this element, however, and the directors were trying to promise twenty per cent. on deposits.

two

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

were

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

who

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Never popular, his memory was execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man’s grasping avarice.

wiped

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading People who had thought to be self-supporting to the last found themselves confronting the poorhouse, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped away.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE The bitterness toward the dead president of the Traders’ Bank seemed to grow with time.

Chapter 28 of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 28 of The Circular Staircase contain?

Chapter 28 holds 157 sentences of The Circular Staircase, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 28 of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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.

How do I study chapter 28 of The Circular Staircase?

Work through the 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 32 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.

Can chapter 28 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 28 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.

Questions about reading The Circular Staircase

Common questions about reading The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Circular Staircase?

Yes. All 4811 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Circular Staircase is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #434, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Circular Staircase take to read?

About 400 minutes of reading across 963 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Circular Staircase section by section

How to work through The Circular Staircase section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Circular Staircase to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Circular Staircase

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Circular Staircase, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Story
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Middle-aged
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Spinster
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Deserted
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.