Chapter 18 of The crystal claw is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The crystal claw is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MISSING! A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation. “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked. He was pale and agitated. At a sign from me the girl left the room.
Chapter 18 of The crystal claw is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
troubled emotionally and usually deeply
From this reading “He was pale and agitated.”
a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
From this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
-ing form of “dictate” — issue commands or orders for
From this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
not able to be found
From this reading “MISSING!”
done under pressure
From this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “At a sign from me the girl left the room.”
someone paid to operate a typewriter
From this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
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.
In this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
temporarily
In this reading ““Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.”
In this reading “A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.”
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 week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
troubled emotionally and usually deeply
From this reading He was pale and agitated.
a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was pale and agitated.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At a sign from me the girl left the room.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
-ing form of “dictate” — issue commands or orders for
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading At a sign from me the girl left the room.
a young female
From this reading At a sign from me the girl left the room.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
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 At a sign from me the girl left the room.
the literary culture
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading At a sign from me the girl left the room.
not able to be found
From this reading MISSING!
a particular point in time
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading He was pale and agitated.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
done under pressure
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading At a sign from me the girl left the room.
express in speech
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At a sign from me the girl left the room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
someone paid to operate a typewriter
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
at the time that
From this reading A week later I was engaged one morning dictating letters to my typist when Hensman rushed into my room, evidently in a state of great agitation.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Can I speak to you for a moment?” he asked.
Chapter 18 of The crystal claw by William Le Queux holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 18 holds 195 sentences of The crystal claw, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The crystal claw by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 18 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 crystal claw by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The crystal claw section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The crystal claw 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 crystal claw, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
