Chapter 9 of The Malefactor is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Malefactor is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Please don’t!” she exclaimed. “I have come to see you--on business!” Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man. He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose. “On business, my dear!” he repeated.
Chapter 9 of The Malefactor is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
altered to accommodate to certain requirements or bring into a proper relation
From this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
past form of “fumble” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading “Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.”
conformity with some esthetic standard of correctness or propriety
From this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
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 “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
In this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
In this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
In this reading “He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.”
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 Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
altered to accommodate to certain requirements or bring into a proper relation
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
later than; following
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
dearly loved
From this reading “On business, my dear!” he repeated.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Please don’t!” she exclaimed.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “Please don’t!” she exclaimed.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
past form of “fumble” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
coins made of gold
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “On business, my dear!” he repeated.
conformity with some esthetic standard of correctness or propriety
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “Please don’t!” she exclaimed.
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
recurring again and again
From this reading “On business, my dear!” he repeated.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Please don’t!” she exclaimed.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
precisely as stated
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mr. Pengarth, after his first gasp of astonishment, was a different man.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He fumbled about on the desk, and produced a pair of gold spectacles, which he adjusted with great nicety on the edge of his very short nose.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I have come to see you--on business!”
Chapter 9 of The Malefactor by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 9 holds 400 sentences of The Malefactor, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Malefactor by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 9 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 Malefactor by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim 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 Malefactor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Malefactor 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 Malefactor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
