Chapter 31 of The Seven Secrets is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Seven Secrets is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CONTAINS THE PLAIN TRUTH. A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse. There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded. The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering. I stood upon the threshold aghast.
Chapter 31 of The Seven Secrets is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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 “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “I stood upon the threshold aghast.”
third-person singular of “contain” — include or contain; have as a component
From this reading “CONTAINS THE PLAIN TRUTH.”
having gaps or spaces
From this reading “There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.”
by good fortune
From this reading “There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.”
so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
From this reading “The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.”
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading “I stood upon the threshold aghast.”
past form of “yield” — be the cause or source of
From this reading “There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.”
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 A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading I stood upon the threshold aghast.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
third-person singular of “contain” — include or contain; have as a component
From this reading CONTAINS THE PLAIN TRUTH.
having gaps or spaces
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
something that provides access (to get in or get out)
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
by good fortune
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
a long fixed look
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
an instinctive motive
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading CONTAINS THE PLAIN TRUTH.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading I stood upon the threshold aghast.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The sight that met my gaze was absolutely staggering.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CONTAINS THE PLAIN TRUTH.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading I stood upon the threshold aghast.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading CONTAINS THE PLAIN TRUTH.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading A sudden idea occurred to me, and I acted instantly upon its impulse.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
past form of “yield” — be the cause or source of
From this reading There was a second entrance through the morning room; and I dashed round to the other door, which fortunately yielded.
Chapter 31 of The Seven Secrets by William Le Queux holds 219 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 31 holds 219 sentences of The Seven Secrets, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Seven Secrets by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 219 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 31 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 Secrets by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4606 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27549 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27549, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 383 minutes of reading across 922 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Seven Secrets section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Seven Secrets 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 Secrets, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
