Chapter 1 of The Under-Secretary is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Under-Secretary is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHAPTER ONE. IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN. Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning. The bells had just chimed the hour. Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
Chapter 1 of The Under-Secretary is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
plural of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “The bells had just chimed the hour.”
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.”
past form of “boom” — make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading “Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
past form of “chime” — emit a sound
From this reading “The bells had just chimed the hour.”
for the most part
From this reading “IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN.”
the state of being asleep
From this reading “Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.”
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading “Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.”
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 “Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning.”
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 IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
plural of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading The bells had just chimed the hour.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
past form of “boom” — make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
past form of “chime” — emit a sound
From this reading The bells had just chimed the hour.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The bells had just chimed the hour.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The bells had just chimed the hour.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
and nothing more
From this reading The bells had just chimed the hour.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
for the most part
From this reading IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading IS MAINLY ABOUT A MAN.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning.
a brief written record
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
according to the clock
From this reading Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
above and across; more than
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
the state of being asleep
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading Big Ben had boomed forth its deep and solemn note over sleeping London.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two o'clock--two o'clock in the morning.
Chapter 1 of The Under-Secretary by William Le Queux holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 1 holds 426 sentences of The Under-Secretary, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Under-Secretary by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 1 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 Under-Secretary by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4668 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40834 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40834, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 389 minutes of reading across 934 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Under-Secretary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Under-Secretary 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 Under-Secretary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
