Chapter 1 of The Closed Book is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Closed Book is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York. This edition dated 1904. The Closed Book, by William Le Queux. ________________________________________________________________________ THE CLOSED BOOK, BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX. CHAPTER ONE.
Chapter 1 of The Closed Book is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
-ing form of “concern” — be relevant to
From this reading “The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.”
marked by features of the immediate and usually discounted past
From this reading “This edition dated 1904.”
the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading “This edition dated 1904.”
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading “The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.”
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading “The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.”
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading “The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.”
showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
From this reading “The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.”
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.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
In this reading “The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.”
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 This edition dated 1904.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
-ing form of “concern” — be relevant to
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
marked by features of the immediate and usually discounted past
From this reading This edition dated 1904.
the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading This edition dated 1904.
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This edition dated 1904.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading The Closed Book Concerning the Secret of the Borgias By William Le Queux Published by The Smart Set Publishing Company, 452 Fifth Ave, New York.
Chapter 1 of The Closed Book by William Le Queux holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 433 sentences of The Closed Book, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Closed Book by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Closed Book by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40828 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40828, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 357 minutes of reading across 859 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Closed Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Closed Book 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 Closed Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
