Chapter 4 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.” Carter nodded. “I know what you mean. I’m superstitious myself. Luck, and all that sort of thing.
Chapter 4 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading “Carter nodded.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “Luck, and all that sort of thing.”
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading ““WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.””
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Carter nodded.”
returning to health after illness or debility
From this reading ““WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.””
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading ““WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.””
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “Luck, and all that sort of thing.”
showing ignorance of the laws of nature and faith in magic or chance
From this reading “I’m superstitious myself.”
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 Luck, and all that sort of thing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Luck, and all that sort of thing.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading Carter nodded.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I know what you mean.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’m superstitious myself.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “I know what you mean.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading Luck, and all that sort of thing.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “I know what you mean.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I’m superstitious myself.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Carter nodded.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Luck, and all that sort of thing.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
returning to health after illness or debility
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Luck, and all that sort of thing.
showing ignorance of the laws of nature and faith in magic or chance
From this reading I’m superstitious myself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Luck, and all that sort of thing.
a special situation
From this reading Luck, and all that sort of thing.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
a former United Kingdom silver coin; United Kingdom bronze decimal coin worth two pennies
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “WELL,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though it were meant to be.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “I know what you mean.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I know what you mean.
Chapter 4 of The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 4 holds 191 sentences of The Secret Adversary, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 4 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 Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5839 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1155 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1155, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1168 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Adversary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Secret Adversary 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 Secret Adversary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
