Chapter 13 of The lazy detective is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The lazy detective is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice. The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully. "That depends," he answered. "My plain duty is to arrest you." "It doesn't matter," she said wearily.
Chapter 13 of The lazy detective is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
take into custody
From this reading “"My plain duty is to arrest you."”
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “"That depends," he answered.”
inflected form of “dwell” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading “The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.”
a high ranking police officer
From this reading “The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “"What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.”
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading “The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.”
not in accordance with or determined by nature; contrary to nature
From this reading “"What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.”
in a weary manner
From this reading “"It doesn't matter," she said wearily.”
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 “The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.”
In this reading “"What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.”
In this reading “"My plain duty is to arrest you."”
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 "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "That depends," he answered.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
take into custody
From this reading "My plain duty is to arrest you."
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading "That depends," he answered.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It doesn't matter," she said wearily.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading "My plain duty is to arrest you."
inflected form of “dwell” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
a long fixed look
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
the act of departing
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "That depends," he answered.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
a high ranking police officer
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "My plain duty is to arrest you."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It doesn't matter," she said wearily.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "It doesn't matter," she said wearily.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My plain duty is to arrest you."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading "My plain duty is to arrest you."
compacted by ironing
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It doesn't matter," she said wearily.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
lacking natural ease
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That depends," he answered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
not in accordance with or determined by nature; contrary to nature
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The inspector pressed his hand to his side, and his stern gaze dwelt upon her thoughtfully.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
in a weary manner
From this reading "It doesn't matter," she said wearily.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What are you going to do now?" she asked in a strained unnatural voice.
Chapter 13 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 13 holds 140 sentences of The lazy detective, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 13 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 lazy detective by George Dilnot 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 lazy detective section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The lazy detective 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 lazy detective, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
