Chapter 2 of The Eight Strokes of the Clock is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Eight Strokes of the Clock is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about. The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago. Was nothing known of it at the time?" "Certainly not," declared the count. "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
Chapter 2 of The Eight Strokes of the Clock is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
in the past
From this reading “The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.”
determine the number or amount of
From this reading “"Certainly not," declared the count.”
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading “"I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."”
the specified day of the month
From this reading “The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.”
made known or openly avowed
From this reading “"Certainly not," declared the count.”
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading “"I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading “The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
in the past
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "Certainly not," declared the count.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading "Certainly not," declared the count.
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
the specified day of the month
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
made known or openly avowed
From this reading "Certainly not," declared the count.
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
apprehended with certainty
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Certainly not," declared the count.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "I never heard of any such crime or disappearance."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was nothing known of it at the time?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
a late time of life
From this reading The tragedy must date back to some twenty years ago.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Yes; and that is what we have come to trouble you about.
Chapter 2 of The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 2 holds 425 sentences of The Eight Strokes of the Clock, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 2 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 Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5109 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 425 minutes of reading across 1022 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Eight Strokes of the Clock section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Eight Strokes of the Clock 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 Eight Strokes of the Clock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
