Chapter 17 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST. Patsy told his story in a few words. He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything. As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded. "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
Chapter 17 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
properly or sufficiently qualified or capable or efficient
From this reading “A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.”
-ing form of “discover” — discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.”
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.”
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading “As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.”
a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
From this reading “Patsy told his story in a few words.”
past form of “reward” — bestow honor or rewards upon
From this reading “As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.”
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading “He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.”
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 A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
any thing at all
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
properly or sufficiently qualified or capable or efficient
From this reading A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
-ing form of “discover” — discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
with low volume
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.
past form of “reward” — bestow honor or rewards upon
From this reading As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields."
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Patsy told his story in a few words.
Chapter 17 of The Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 17 holds 98 sentences of The Crime of the French Café and Other, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 17 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 Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11989 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11989, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 832 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crime of the French Café and Other section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Crime of the French Café and Other 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 Crime of the French Café and Other, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
