Chapter 23 of The Mystery of Orcival is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Mystery of Orcival is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!" "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called." "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?" "Not at all. It's a present from our good Plantat."
Chapter 23 of The Mystery of Orcival is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “"So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."”
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “"Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"”
fearless and daring
From this reading “"Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"”
without care or concern
From this reading “"So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “"Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"”
(Greek mythology) a mythical Trojan who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War
From this reading “"So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “It's a present from our good Plantat."”
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “"Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"”
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 "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
(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 "Not at all.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Not at all.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
fearless and daring
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
without care or concern
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It's a present from our good Plantat."
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It's a present from our good Plantat."
(Greek mythology) a mythical Trojan who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's a present from our good Plantat."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not at all.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It's a present from our good Plantat."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's a present from our good Plantat."
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading It's a present from our good Plantat."
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
in spite of the fact that
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "So I thought," answered Hector, carelessly, "though I don't know what it is called."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
which person or people
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why," said she, "what a pretty flower!"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Would it be bold to ask who gave it to you?"
Chapter 23 of The Mystery of Orcival by Emile Gaboriau holds 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 23 holds 214 sentences of The Mystery of Orcival, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Mystery of Orcival by Emile Gaboriau exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 23 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.
