Who controls a dangerous truth?
A private photograph gives Irene Adler power over a king, so Holmes is hired to retrieve it before a marriage.
Story 03 / Student reader
A Scandal in Bohemia
Follow Holmes as he tries to recover a photograph. Watch the clues, the disguises and the person who reads the plan first.
Original source. The complete public-domain text is provided by Project Gutenberg.
Open Project Gutenberg /01 / Read first
Read the complete original.
The public-domain text opens below. Read the case in the frame, then use the phrase list and tools to revisit any difficult sentence.
“I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately?”
Holmes explains his method / Arthur Conan Doyle
02 / Plot map
Trace how the story moves.
Build the story from setting to turning point. The final node stays closed until you finish the original text.
- 01 / Beginning
A king needs help
The King of Bohemia fears that an old photograph will damage his planned marriage and asks Holmes for help.
- 02 / Conflict
Irene holds the evidence
The photograph belongs to Irene Adler, whose intelligence and independence make the case more than a simple theft.
- 03 / Key development
Holmes creates a plan
Through disguises and a staged emergency, Holmes tries to discover where Irene keeps the photograph.
- 04 / Turning point
The plan changes hands
Irene notices more than Holmes expects, so the detective’s careful plan stops being the only plan in the room.
- 05 / Ending & meaning
Irene keeps her control
She outthinks Holmes and leaves on her own terms. Holmes’s respect for her turns the “scandal” into a challenge to his certainty.
Open each event in order. Before the ending, ask whose choices have the most power in this case.
03 / Vocabulary
Build the words you need.
These 50 K12-friendly words and phrases come from the story world. Read the part of speech and IPA first, then read the English explanation before checking the Chinese meaning. Use Listen for Google's English pronunciation.
- akin to类似于，近似于similar to
- fall into a false position陷入不利或尴尬的处境be put in a weak position
- from time to time不时地，偶尔occasionally
- on the scent追踪到线索following a promising clue
- work it out推断出，弄清楚solve or understand it
- in disguise乔装，伪装wearing a changed appearance
- keep an eye on留意，监视watch carefully
- carte blanche全权处理的自由complete freedom to act
- scandal丑闻an event that shocks people and harms a reputation
- sovereign君主a king or queen who rules a country
- royal王室的connected with a king or queen
- Your Majesty陛下a respectful title for a king or queen
- affair私情，风流韵事a secret romantic relationship
- photograph照片a picture made with a camera
- evidence证据facts or objects that help prove something
- compromise妥协；使名誉受损的材料an agreement, or information that can cause trouble
- wed结婚marry, especially in formal language
- blackmail敲诈，勒索threaten to reveal a secret for money or power
- retain保留continue to have or keep something
- possession拥有；所有物the state of having something, or the thing itself
- address地址the details of where a person or building is
- dispatch派遣；发送send someone or something quickly
- discreet谨慎的，低调的careful not to attract attention
- inquiry调查，询问an attempt to find information
- confidential机密的intended to be kept private
- client委托人，客户a person who asks a professional for help
- adversary对手a person who is against you
- disguise伪装a change in appearance used to hide identity
- put on a disguise进行伪装dress or change your appearance to hide
- observation观察something noticed by careful looking
- deduction推理，演绎an answer reached from facts
- inference推断an idea formed from evidence
- remarkable非凡的，引人注目的unusual or worth noticing
- depend upon取决于，依靠be decided by or rely on something
- solution解决办法，答案an answer to a problem
- trace追踪find someone or something by following clues
- clue线索a detail that helps solve a mystery
- carriage马车a vehicle pulled by horses
- cab出租马车，出租车a vehicle that takes passengers for payment
- lodgings住处a place where someone stays
- bachelor单身男子a man who is not married
- pawnbroker当铺老板a person who lends money for valuable objects
- bridegroom新郎a man who is getting married
- wedding婚礼a ceremony in which people get married
- by the way顺便说used to add a related piece of information
- on the point of正要about to do something
- take one's leave告辞leave politely
- make up one's mind下定决心decide what to do
- at length最后；详细地after a long time, or in detail
- in spite of尽管despite a difficulty
- break into闯入enter a place by force
- keep watch监视，守望watch a place or person carefully
- take advantage of利用use a situation for your own benefit
- outwit智胜defeat someone by being cleverer
- anticipate预料，预先准备expect something and prepare for it
- recover取回，找回get something back
- threaten威胁say you will cause harm or trouble
- reputation名声，声誉what people generally think about someone
- secretly秘密地without other people knowing
- clever enough足够聪明smart enough to do something
- follow the clue跟随线索use a detail to continue an investigation
04 / Reading quiz
Show what you noticed.
Answer in short, clear English. Start speaking within five seconds, use one detail from the story, and do not worry about a perfect answer.
05 / After class
One small repeat keeps the skill.
Spend 5-8 minutes this week. Say the core answer, retell the case in four sentences, then change one sentence and say it again.
5-8 minutesComplete after the lesson.
What is the biggest problem in this story?
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