Chapter 10 of The Roman hat mystery is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Roman hat mystery is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS MR. MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet. He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes. There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner. If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
Chapter 10 of The Roman hat mystery is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 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.
in an awkward manner
From this reading “MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.”
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading “He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.”
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading “There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.”
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
From this reading “MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.”
plural of “michael” — (Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading “MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.”
slow and laborious because of weight
From this reading “He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.”
found in the ordinary course of events
From this reading “If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.”
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading “If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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 was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
(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 If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
any thing at all
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
in an awkward manner
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
the two together, not just one
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
one or the other of two
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS MR.
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
plural of “michael” — (Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
a form of address for a man
From this reading IN WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS MR.
of an obscure nature
From this reading IN WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS MR.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
slow and laborious because of weight
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS MR.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was nothing distinguished in either his appearance or his manner.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MICHAELS APPEARS The intruder rose awkwardly to his feet.
found in the ordinary course of events
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If anything unusual could be said of him at all, it was that both his appearance and manner were so unremarkable.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading IN WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS MR.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was a tall, ponderous man with solemn features and blank eyes.
Chapter 10 of The Roman hat mystery by Ellery Queen holds 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 10 holds 220 sentences of The Roman hat mystery, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Roman hat mystery by Ellery Queen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 10 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 Roman hat mystery by Ellery Queen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7321 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76339 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76339, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1465 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Roman hat mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Roman hat mystery 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 Roman hat mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
