Chapter 22 of The Great Secret is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Great Secret is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table. He beckoned to the steward. "You will take something?" he asked. I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette. I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
Chapter 22 of The Great Secret is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “He beckoned to the steward.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.”
a claimant to the throne or to the office of ruler (usually without just title)
From this reading “THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.”
hidden from general view or use
From this reading “THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.”
a sodium salt of carbonic acid; used in making soap powders and glass and paper
From this reading “I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.”
someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading “He beckoned to the steward.”
past form of “taste” — have flavor; taste of something
From this reading “I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.”
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading “I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.”
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 THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "You will take something?" he asked.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading He beckoned to the steward.
an occurrence of something
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He beckoned to the steward.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.
set down according to a plan
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
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 I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
provided with artificial light
From this reading I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.
a claimant to the throne or to the office of ruler (usually without just title)
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
hidden from general view or use
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
a sodium salt of carbonic acid; used in making soap powders and glass and paper
From this reading I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "You will take something?" he asked.
someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading He beckoned to the steward.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
carry out
From this reading "You will take something?" he asked.
past form of “taste” — have flavor; taste of something
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I had tasted nothing like them since I had left England.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PRETENDER Mr. de Valentin led the way to a secluded corner of the smoke-room, and laid a well-filled cigarette case upon the table.
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading I ordered a whisky and soda and lit a cigarette.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "You will take something?" he asked.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You will take something?" he asked.
Chapter 22 of The Great Secret by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 22 holds 131 sentences of The Great Secret, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Great Secret by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 22 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 Great Secret by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6422 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9872 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9872, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 535 minutes of reading across 1285 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Secret section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Great Secret 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 Great Secret, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
