Chapter 6 of The Seven Conundrums is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Seven Conundrums is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply. Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him. He hesitated. "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided. "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
Chapter 6 of The Seven Conundrums is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading “Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.”
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading “"There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “He hesitated.”
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
From this reading “Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.”
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading “"Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."”
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.”
possessive form of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading “Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.”
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 “Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.”
In this reading “The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.”
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 "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
how long something has existed
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading He hesitated.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
come together
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
possessive form of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
express in words
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
in the direction of
From this reading Then he chanced to meet the kindly expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
Chapter 6 of The Seven Conundrums by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 435 sentences, grouped into 87 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 6 holds 435 sentences of The Seven Conundrums, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Seven Conundrums by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 435 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Seven Conundrums by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3470 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59198 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59198, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 289 minutes of reading across 694 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Seven Conundrums section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Seven Conundrums 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 Seven Conundrums, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
