Chapter 17 of The Mystery of Orcival is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Mystery of Orcival is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's nervousness," he muttered. "It'll pass off." He gave himself till one o'clock. He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide. If he did not, what would become of him?
Chapter 17 of The Mystery of Orcival is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
inflected form of “commit” — perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading “He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.”
make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something
From this reading “He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “"It's nervousness," he muttered.”
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading “He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.”
the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters
From this reading “"It's nervousness," he muttered.”
according to the clock
From this reading “He gave himself till one o'clock.”
go across or through
From this reading “"It'll pass off."”
the act of killing yourself
From this reading “He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.”
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.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
inflected form of “commit” — perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading He gave himself till one o'clock.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's nervousness," he muttered.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He gave himself till one o'clock.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It'll pass off."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's nervousness," he muttered.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "It's nervousness," he muttered.
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters
From this reading "It's nervousness," he muttered.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
according to the clock
From this reading He gave himself till one o'clock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "It'll pass off."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He gave himself till one o'clock.
go across or through
From this reading "It'll pass off."
the act of killing yourself
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
up to a particular time
From this reading He gave himself till one o'clock.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He tried to convince himself of the necessity of committing suicide.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If he did not, what would become of him?
Chapter 17 of The Mystery of Orcival by Emile Gaboriau holds 223 sentences, grouped into 45 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 17 holds 223 sentences of The Mystery of Orcival, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Mystery of Orcival by Emile Gaboriau exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 223 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 17 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 Mystery of Orcival by Emile Gaboriau on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7074 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1651 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1651, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 589 minutes of reading across 1415 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mystery of Orcival section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Mystery of Orcival 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 Mystery of Orcival, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
