Chapter 16 of The Secret of Chimneys is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Secret of Chimneys is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself. From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan. Anthony looked up. The groan came again. Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.
Chapter 16 of The Secret of Chimneys is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading “Anthony looked up.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.”
with speed
From this reading “Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.”
in or at or to some place
From this reading “From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.”
held in check with difficulty
From this reading “From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.”
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.
In this reading “He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.”
In this reading “Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.”
seek information from
In this reading “Anthony looked up.”
In this reading “He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.”
In this reading “From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.”
In this reading “The groan came again.”
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 stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
anew
From this reading The groan came again.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading Anthony looked up.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
uncertain how to act or proceed
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Anthony looked up.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
with speed
From this reading Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Anthony glanced quickly from left to right.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
in or at or to some place
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
held in check with difficulty
From this reading From somewhere above his head came a stifled groan.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The groan came again.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He stood irresolute for a minute, smiling to himself.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Anthony looked up.
Chapter 16 of The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 16 holds 404 sentences of The Secret of Chimneys, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 16 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 of Chimneys by Agatha Christie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7349 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65238 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65238, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1470 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret of Chimneys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Secret of Chimneys 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 of Chimneys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
