Unnatural death

Chapter XVI · Temptation of St. Peter

Chapter XVI of Unnatural death, “Temptation of St. Peter,” is here in full — 240 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Dorothy L. (Dorothy Leigh) Sayers • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

Pierrot: “_Scaramel, I am tempted._” Scaramel: “_Always yield to temptation._” L. Housman, _Prunella_ As Parker came out from the Chief Commissioner’s room, he was caught by an officer.

“There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

“I told her to ring up at 10:30.

It’s about that now.”

“What name?”

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XVI Reading 1/48

Unnatural death

Chapter XVI · Temptation of St. Peter

Chapter XVI of Unnatural death, “Temptation of St. Peter,” is here in full — 240 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/48 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

Pierrot: “_Scaramel, I am tempted._” Scaramel: “_Always yield to temptation._” L. Housman, _Prunella_ As Parker came out from the Chief Commissioner’s room, he was caught by an officer.

Line 2

“There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

Line 3

“I told her to ring up at 10:30.

Line 4

It’s about that now.”

Line 5

“What name?”

/wʌt neɪm/

Learner Dictionary

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.

Commissioner's noun US /kəˈmɪʃənərz/

possessive form of “commissioner” — a government administrator

Housman noun US /ˈhaʊsmən/

English poet (1859-1936)

From this reading “Pierrot: “_Scaramel, I am tempted._” Scaramel: “_Always yield to temptation._” L. Housman, _Prunella_ As Parker came out from the Chief Commissioner’s room, he was caught by an officer.”

Parker noun US /ˈpɑːrkər/

United States saxophonist and leader of the bop style of jazz (1920-1955)

phone noun US /foʊn/

electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds

From this reading ““There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.”

Prunella noun US /pruːˈnelə/

small genus of perennial mostly Eurasian having terminal spikes of small purplish or white flowers

temptation noun US /temˈteɪʃən/

something that seduces or has the quality to seduce

tempted verb US /ˈtemptɪd/

past form of “tempt” — dispose or incline or entice to

yield verb US /jiːld/

be the cause or source of

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

came out verb + adjective counted as “come out”

appear or become visible; make a showing

In this reading “Pierrot: “_Scaramel, I am tempted._” Scaramel: “_Always yield to temptation._” L. Housman, _Prunella_ As Parker came out from the Chief Commissioner’s room, he was caught by an officer.”

All words in this reading · 48

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.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading It’s about that now.”

AlwaysadverbUS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

at all times; all the time and on every occasion

From this reading Pierrot: “_Scaramel, I am tempted._” Scaramel: “_Always yield to temptation._” L. Housman, _Prunella_ As Parker came out from the Chief Commissioner’s room, he was caught by an officer.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

caughtverbUS /kɑːt/

inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state

ChiefnounUS /tʃiːf/

a person who is in charge

Commissioner'snounUS /kəˈmɪʃənərz/

possessive form of “commissioner” — a government administrator

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

HousmannounUS /ˈhaʊsmən/

English poet (1859-1936)

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

It's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It’s about that now.”

LnounUS /el/

a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)

ladynounUS /ˈleɪdi/

a polite name for any woman

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

nameverbUS /neɪm/

assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading “What name?”

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading It’s about that now.”

officernounUS /ˈɔːfəsər/

any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

ParkernounUS /ˈpɑːrkər/

United States saxophonist and leader of the bop style of jazz (1920-1955)

phonenounUS /foʊn/

electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

Pierrotnoun

a male character in French pantomime; usually dressed in white with a whitened face

PrunellanounUS /pruːˈnelə/

small genus of perennial mostly Eurasian having terminal spikes of small purplish or white flowers

ringverbUS /rɪŋ/

sound loudly and sonorously

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

roomnounUS /ruːm/

an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

Scaramel

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

temptationnounUS /temˈteɪʃən/

something that seduces or has the quality to seduce

temptedverbUS /ˈtemptɪd/

past form of “tempt” — dispose or incline or entice to

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading It’s about that now.”

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

There's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

toldverbUS /toʊld/

inflected form of “tell” — express in words

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading “I told her to ring up at 10:30.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading “What name?”

yieldverbUS /jiːld/

be the cause or source of

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “There’s been a lady on the ’phone to you,” he said.

Chapter 16 of Unnatural death by Dorothy L. (Dorothy Leigh) Sayers holds 240 sentences, grouped into 48 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.

What does chapter 16 of Unnatural death contain?

Chapter 16 holds 240 sentences of Unnatural death, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 16 of Unnatural death by Dorothy L. (Dorothy Leigh) Sayers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 240 sentences, grouped into 48 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.

How do I study chapter 16 of Unnatural death?

Work through the 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 48 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.

Can chapter 16 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 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.

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Is this the complete text of Unnatural death?

Yes. All 6033 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70008 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #70008, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 502 minutes of reading across 1207 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in Unnatural death

Words and structures a reader meets early in Unnatural death, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Wimsey: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Unnatural death; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Peter: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Unnatural death; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Death: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Unnatural death; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Bredon: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Unnatural death; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XVI · Temptation of St. Peter

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