Chapter 6 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At last he seemed ready. "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door. There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in. Keep that door shut at any cost. It's now or never - here goes."
Chapter 6 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
an administrative unit of government
From this reading “There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.”
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.”
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading “Keep that door shut at any cost.”
with low volume
From this reading “"Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.”
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading “"Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “"Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.”
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading “"Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.”
any shape that is triangular in cross section
From this reading “There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Keep that door shut at any cost.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last he seemed ready.
an administrative unit of government
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading Keep that door shut at any cost.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading It's now or never - here goes."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At last he seemed ready.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading It's now or never - here goes."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's now or never - here goes."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Keep that door shut at any cost.
immediately past
From this reading At last he seemed ready.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading It's now or never - here goes."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading It's now or never - here goes."
above and across; more than
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
with low volume
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading At last he seemed ready.
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading At last he seemed ready.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading Keep that door shut at any cost.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
any shape that is triangular in cross section
From this reading There, now the table and that bureau, and wedge the chairs in.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "Walter," he whispered, "roll that sofa quietly over against the door.
Chapter 6 of The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve holds 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 6 holds 181 sentences of The Poisoned Pen, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 6 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 Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6378 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1923, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 531 minutes of reading across 1276 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poisoned Pen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Poisoned Pen 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 Poisoned Pen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
