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.
All I ask you is to keep your eyes open. You’ll see what I mean.” The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door. John’s voice sounded outside. With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
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 62/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 306–310
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.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.”
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading “With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.”
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading “The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.”
possessive form of “john” — a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading “The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.”
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading “With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “John’s voice sounded outside.”
pulsate or pound with abnormal force
From this reading “The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
opinion or judgment
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
possessive form of “john” — a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading John’s voice sounded outside.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading You’ll see what I mean.”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading John’s voice sounded outside.
above and across; more than
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You’ll see what I mean.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading John’s voice sounded outside.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
pulsate or pound with abnormal force
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading John’s voice sounded outside.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading You’ll see what I mean.”
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss Howard rose and moved to the door.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her shoulder, and beckoned to me.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You’ll see what I mean.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading All I ask you is to keep your eyes open.
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.
