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.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
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.
Miss Howard nodded grimly. “True enough! Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry. Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit. Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
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 53/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 261–265
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.
possessive form of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading “Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.”
in a grim implacable manner
From this reading “Miss Howard nodded grimly.”
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading “Miss Howard nodded grimly.”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Miss Howard nodded grimly.”
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading “Probably water off a duck’s back, though.”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.”
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 Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
possessive form of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “True enough!
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
in a grim implacable manner
From this reading Miss Howard nodded grimly.
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading Miss Howard nodded grimly.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Howard nodded grimly.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Miss Howard nodded grimly.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
and nothing more
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
doomed to extinction
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don’t mind if they’ve only sunk in a bit.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “True enough!
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Probably water off a duck’s back, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Afraid I said some things to Emily she won’t forget or forgive in a hurry.
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.
