Chapter 17 of The Wonderful Year is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Wonderful Year is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out. It was no longer a family affair. Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment. His practised wit questioned. Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
Chapter 17 of The Wonderful Year is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading “THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.”
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading “Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.”
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading “THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.”
avoiding emotional involvement
From this reading “Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.”
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.”
a central cohesive source of support and stability
From this reading “THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.”
skillful after much practice
From this reading “His practised wit questioned.”
past form of “tumble” — fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading “THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.”
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.
eliminate
In this reading “THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.”
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 It was no longer a family affair.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading It was no longer a family affair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
completely unclothed
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
avoiding emotional involvement
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
a social unit living together
From this reading It was no longer a family affair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was no longer a family affair.
a central cohesive source of support and stability
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
set down according to a plan
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
for more time
From this reading It was no longer a family affair.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
not any; not one
From this reading It was no longer a family affair.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
skillful after much practice
From this reading His practised wit questioned.
engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading His practised wit questioned.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
past form of “tumble” — fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading THE astute conspiracy had tumbled to ruins, the keystone, Félise, being knocked out.
up to a particular time
From this reading Martin replied until he had laid bare his candid and intoxicated soul.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was no longer a family affair.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading His practised wit questioned.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Fortinbras listened to the young man’s statement of his case with professional detachment.
Chapter 17 of The Wonderful Year by William John Locke holds 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 301 sentences of The Wonderful Year, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Wonderful Year by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 Wonderful Year by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7380 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60123 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60123, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1476 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wonderful Year section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Wonderful Year 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 Wonderful Year, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
