Chapter 1 of The White Lie is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Lie is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?" "Who knows! Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures." "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair. You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
Chapter 1 of The White Lie is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading “Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “"Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.”
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
someone who is a detective
From this reading “Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."”
of an obscure nature
From this reading “"Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.”
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading “_Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"”
a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive
From this reading “_Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"”
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 _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
plural of “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
dearly loved
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
someone who is a detective
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "Who knows!
immediately past
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
used to form the superlative
From this reading "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
of an obscure nature
From this reading "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
by chance
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
a human being
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
especially fine or decorative clothing
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Poor Dick Harborne was certainly a man of secrets, and of many adventures."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, it certainly is a most mysterious affair.
a Caucasian
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
which person or people
From this reading "Who knows!
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading _Author of "The Temptress," "In White Raiment," "The Room of Secrets," etc._ "A woman--perhaps?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You, my dear Barclay, appear to be the last person to have spoken to him."
Chapter 1 of The White Lie by William Le Queux holds 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 160 sentences of The White Lie, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The White Lie by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 White Lie by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4700 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29173 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29173, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 391 minutes of reading across 940 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Lie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The White Lie 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 White Lie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
