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.
He’s a bad lot. You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you. He’s a bad lot!’” “What did she say?” Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
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 56/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 276–280
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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “He’s a bad lot.”
characterized by expression
From this reading “Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.”
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading “Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.”
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading “Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.”
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading “Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “He’s a bad lot.”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.”
To recall to mind.
From this reading “You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told 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 He’s a bad lot.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading He’s a bad lot.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “What did she say?”
characterized by expression
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He’s a bad lot.
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading He’s a bad lot.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
To recall to mind.
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
express in words
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “What did she say?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You can say what you like to me, but remember what I’ve told you.
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.
