Chapter 17 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers. His face was worn and harassed. He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off. “I don’t understand,” he said. “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
Chapter 17 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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 “He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.”
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading ““Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?””
troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
From this reading “His face was worn and harassed.”
easily agitated
From this reading “THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.”
first in rank or degree
From this reading “THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.”
in a condition for letting out liquid drawn out as by piercing or drawing a plug
From this reading “THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.”
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading “His face was worn and harassed.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
(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 “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His face was worn and harassed.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t understand,” he said.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His face was worn and harassed.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
From this reading His face was worn and harassed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His face was worn and harassed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t understand,” he said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
a form of address for a man
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
easily agitated
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
first in rank or degree
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I don’t understand,” he said.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
in a condition for letting out liquid drawn out as by piercing or drawing a plug
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “I don’t understand,” he said.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He took up his conversation with Mr. Carter at the point it had broken off.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His face was worn and harassed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading His face was worn and harassed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Do you really mean that things are not so desperate after all?”
Chapter 17 of The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 170 sentences of The Secret Adversary, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 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.
