Chapter 17 of The Street Called Straight is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Street Called Straight is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"That's for you to settle with yourself." He was silent a minute. When he spoke it was with some conviction. "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was." "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
Chapter 17 of The Street Called Straight is here in full — 402 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.
an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence
From this reading “When he spoke it was with some conviction.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “He was silent a minute.”
settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
From this reading “"That's for you to settle with yourself."”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading “He was silent a minute.”
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading “When he spoke it was with some conviction.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “"I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “"Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “"That's for you to settle with yourself."”
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 was silent a minute.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence
From this reading When he spoke it was with some conviction.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was silent a minute.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When he spoke it was with some conviction.
(Roman mythology) supreme god of Romans; counterpart of Greek Zeus
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading He was silent a minute.
not any; not one
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
and nothing more
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
precisely, exactly
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
marked by absence of sound
From this reading He was silent a minute.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading When he spoke it was with some conviction.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading When he spoke it was with some conviction.
successive (without a break)
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
a special situation
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
a source of difficulty
From this reading "Oh, there'll be no trouble about that.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was silent a minute.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "I should like to do the right thing, by Jove!--the straight thing--if I only knew what it was."
at the time that
From this reading When he spoke it was with some conviction.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading "That's for you to settle with yourself."
Chapter 17 of The Street Called Straight by Basil King holds 402 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 17 holds 402 sentences of The Street Called Straight, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Street Called Straight by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 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 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 Street Called Straight by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6982 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14394 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14394, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 581 minutes of reading across 1397 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Street Called Straight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Street Called Straight 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 Street Called Straight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
