The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Writer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Mystery
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Adventure IV: The Boscombe Valley Mystery (an excerpt)
âI think that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy,â said Holmes. âHave you an order to see him in prison?â
âYes, but only for you and me.â
âThen I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have still time to take a train to Hereford and see him to-night?â
âAmple.â
âThen let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very slow, but I shall only be away a couple of hours.â
I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin, however, when compared to the deep mystery through which we were groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the action to the fact, that I at last flung it across the room and gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the day. Supposing that this unhappy young manâs story were absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when, drawn back by his screams, he rushed into the glade? It was something terrible and deadly. What could it be? Might not the nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts? I rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper, which contained a verbatim account of the inquest. In the surgeonâs deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot upon my own head. Clearly such a blow must have been struck from behind. That was to some extent in favour of the accused, as when seen quarrelling he was face to face with his father. Still, it did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call Holmesâ attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be delirium. A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how he met his fate. But what could it indicate? I cudgelled my brains to find some possible explanation. And then the incident of the grey cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were true the murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his overcoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off. What a tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was! I did not wonder at Lestradeâs opinion, and yet I had so much faith in Sherlock Holmesâ insight that I could not lose hope as long as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young McCarthyâs innocence.
WordChecker
resolution (noun): a strong decision
clear (verb): to prove that a person is innocent of a crime
puny (adjective): weak
grope (verb): to search with little guidance
delirium (noun): in a wild, disturbed state of mind
cudgel (verb): to beat
hardihood (noun): courage
18 comments
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Acacia Muley says:
Hello Every one.
Good story but not easy to wrap hear
d immediately with once listening -
José Calderón G. says:
Good evenning. This is a way very interesting to improve skills of listening, for me it is the more difficult. Thanks.
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JATIN ANAND says:
This is amazing. You can practice her LISTENING section of the English language exam.
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Carlos says:
In my opinion, this excerpt is not straightforward to understand. However, once you obtain the meaning of some words, it will turn into an easy grasp. Indeed, I learned several new words.
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Valter Pucuta says:
All text related to Sherlock Holmes is fantastic especially this part of the Boscombe Valley Mystery. Will continue with the classics
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catherine wairiri says:
Hello.The story is soo clear thanks for the explanations of the vocabularies.
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Muteba M.B De La Haye says:
Bonsoir!
LŽhistoire en soit est trÚs riche en vocabulaire et mots nouveaux. Ici, nous faisons présence à un texte et pas dialogue.Je souhaiterai que lŽhistoire soit lue par deux personnes pour faciliter la compréhension! En plus cŽest extrémement long. La compréhension poserait beaucoup de problémes pour les personnes qui ne dominent pas la langue! -
Teodolinda Gonzalez says:
It is amazing to learn with differents topics more with the adventures of Sherlock Holmes where the mystery is the key and let you think and trie to resolve the problem in this case.
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Robinson Valbert says:
For me, I think this text has created and motived to every people do better in writing and also in listening because I learned a lot about this text. Then, it is really fantastic..
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Mohammed Benjelloun says:
Voici le texte en français
Le mystÚre de la vallée de Boscombe (extrait)
«Je pense que je vois comment je peux dĂ©barrasser James McCarthy», a dĂ©clarĂ© Holmes. “Avez-vous un ordre de le voir en prison?”“Oui, mais seulement pour toi et moi.”
«Ensuite, je reconsidérerai ma résolution de sortir. Nous avons encore le temps de prendre un train pour Hereford et de le voir ce soir?
“Ample.”
«Alors laissez-nous le faire. Watson, je crains que vous ne trouviez ça trÚs lent, mais je ne serai absent que quelques heures.
Je suis descendu avec eux Ă la gare, puis j’ai errĂ© dans les rues de la petite ville pour finalement retourner Ă l’hĂŽtel, oĂč je me suis allongĂ© sur le canapĂ© et j’ai essayĂ© de m’intĂ©resser Ă un roman Ă dos jaune. L’intrigue chĂ©tive de l’histoire Ă©tait si mince, cependant, comparĂ©e au mystĂšre profond Ă travers lequel nous tentions de tĂątonner, et j’ai trouvĂ© mon attention s’Ă©garer si continuellement de l’action au fait que je l’ai enfin jetĂ©e Ă travers la piĂšce. et me suis entiĂšrement consacrĂ© Ă la considĂ©ration des Ă©vĂ©nements de la journĂ©e. En supposant que cette histoire de ce malheureux jeune homme soit vraie, alors quelle chose infernale, quelle calamitĂ© imprĂ©vue et extraordinaire aurait pu se produire entre le moment oĂč il a quittĂ© son pĂšre et le moment oĂč il a Ă©tĂ© attirĂ© par ses cris, sâest prĂ©cipitĂ© dans la clairiĂšre? C’Ă©tait quelque chose de terrible et mortel. Qu’est ce que ça pourrait ĂȘtre? La nature des blessures ne pourrait-elle pas rĂ©vĂ©ler quelque chose Ă mon instinct de mĂ©decin? J’ai sonnĂ© et j’ai appelĂ© le journal hebdomadaire du comtĂ©, qui contenait un compte rendu in extenso de l’enquĂȘte. Dans la dĂ©position du chirurgien, il a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©clarĂ© que le tiers postĂ©rieur de lâos pariĂ©tal gauche et la moitiĂ© gauche de lâos occipital avaient Ă©tĂ© brisĂ©s par un violent coup de couteau Ă©moussĂ©. J’ai marquĂ© l’endroit sur ma tĂȘte. Un tel coup a dĂ» ĂȘtre frappĂ© par derriĂšre. Cela Ă©tait dans une certaine mesure en faveur de lâaccusĂ©, car lorsquâil sâest vu querelleur, il se trouvait face Ă face avec son pĂšre. Pourtant, cela nâa pas durĂ© beaucoup, car le vieil homme aurait peut-ĂȘtre tournĂ© le dos avant que le coup ne tombe. NĂ©anmoins, il serait peut-ĂȘtre intĂ©ressant dâattirer lâattention de Holmes sur cette question. Ensuite, il y avait la rĂ©fĂ©rence particuliĂšre mourante Ă un rat. Qu’est-ce que cela pourrait signifier? Ce ne pouvait pas ĂȘtre un dĂ©lire. Un homme qui meurt d’un coup soudain ne devient gĂ©nĂ©ralement pas dĂ©lirant. Non, c’Ă©tait plutĂŽt une tentative d’expliquer comment il avait connu son destin. Mais que pourrait-il indiquer? Je me suis cudlĂ©e la cervelle pour trouver une explication possible. Et puis l’incident du tissu gris vu par le jeune McCarthy. Si cela Ă©tait vrai, le meurtrier aurait dĂ» laisser tomber une partie de sa robe, vraisemblablement son pardessus, dans sa fuite, et il aurait dĂ» avoir la hardiesse de revenir et de l’emporter au moment oĂč le fils Ă©tait agenouillĂ©, le dos tournĂ© Ă douze pas de lĂ . Quel tissu de mystĂšres et d’improbabilitĂ©s tout cela Ă©tait! Je ne me suis pas Ă©tonnĂ© de lâopinion de Lestrade, et pourtant, jâavais tellement confiance en la perspicacitĂ© de Sherlock Holmes que je ne pouvais pas perdre espoir aussi longtemps que chaque fait nouveau semblait renforcer sa conviction de lâinnocence du jeune McCarthy.
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Andreia Vassao says:
For me it’s was a wonderfull text, after listening, I read and found out a lot of new vocabulary. In my oppinion, this is what we look for in texts.
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MARIA says:
I agree that when there’s more than one character, it would be useful for non-native speakers have different voices. I also agree that it would be better to split it into different parts so as to master and understand them better.
Thank you! -
Madelyn M.Mendoza says:
This is a good kkind of conversation and the story is somewhat interesting but may I suggest that the longer part of the dialogue should be divided into three or four sections of dialogue for easier understanding. Thank you
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Kateryna Z says:
In my opinion it’s very easy to listen, but quiet difficult to understand for not native speaking person. To me it is hard to understand the meaning atlist due to lack of vacabulary I guess.
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Ariel Leung says:
The dialogue between Holmes and Watson would be better read by two persons.
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M.Hamed Arghoshi says:
hello good morning :
In my term its very useful especially postcode, yet it is a good backing for our listening . provision of such these audio is full of interest for us .it was fantastic but too long -
M.Hamed Arghoshi says:
hello good morning :
In my term its very useful especially postcode, yet it is a good backing for our listening . provision of such these audio is full of interest for us . -
M.Hamed Arghoshi says:
hello good morning :
In my term its very useful especially postcode, yet it is a good backing for our listening .