Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty. She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me. “Sit down here on the grass, do. It’s ever so much nicer.” I dropped down obediently.
Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 41/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 201–205
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.
plural of “eyelash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading “With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.”
shoot down, of birds
From this reading ““Sit down here on the grass, do.”
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading “She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.”
comparative of “nice” — pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “It’s ever so much nicer.””
in an obedient manner
From this reading “I dropped down obediently.”
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading “She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.”
plural of “sandwich” — two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them
From this reading “She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.”
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 With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
next to; at the side of
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Sit down here on the grass, do.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading I dropped down obediently.
at any time
From this reading It’s ever so much nicer.”
plural of “eyelash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
opinion or judgment
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading “Sit down here on the grass, do.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Sit down here on the grass, do.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s ever so much nicer.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading It’s ever so much nicer.”
comparative of “nice” — pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading It’s ever so much nicer.”
in an obedient manner
From this reading I dropped down obediently.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
plural of “sandwich” — two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
be seated
From this reading “Sit down here on the grass, do.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It’s ever so much nicer.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie holds 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 1 holds 355 sentences of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 1 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 Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5287 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #863 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #863, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1058 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mysterious Affair at Styles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Mysterious Affair at Styles 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 Mysterious Affair at Styles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
