Chapter 4 of The Film Mystery is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Film Mystery is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment. Poor simp! It's all over with him then. I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time. There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.
Chapter 4 of The Film Mystery is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 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.
a financier who owns or is an executive in a bank
From this reading “"Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.”
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.”
deeply or markedly affected or influenced
From this reading “I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.”
English film actress (1913-1967)
From this reading “There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.”
third-person singular of “persuade” — win approval or support for
From this reading “"Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.”
something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason
From this reading “"Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “"Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.”
under normal conditions
From this reading “"Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.”
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 "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
(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 It's all over with him then.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
a financier who owns or is an executive in a bank
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
a boy or man
From this reading There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It's all over with him then.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
deeply or markedly affected or influenced
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's all over with him then.
English film actress (1913-1967)
From this reading There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
a particular point in time
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
above and across; more than
From this reading It's all over with him then.
third-person singular of “persuade” — win approval or support for
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor simp!
something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor simp!
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading It's all over with him then.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
under normal conditions
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I'll never forget how impressed Phelps was with this place the first time.
look attentively
From this reading There, now, watch this fellow, Leigh.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, on one pretext or another, Manton usually persuades the banker to step up here for a moment.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It's all over with him then.
Chapter 4 of The Film Mystery by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 4 holds 427 sentences of The Film Mystery, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Film Mystery by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 4 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 Film Mystery by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5522 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5270 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5270, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 460 minutes of reading across 1105 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Film Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Film Mystery 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 Film Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
