Chapter 20 of A Dreadful Temptation is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Dreadful Temptation is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings. Perhaps the shock would kill her. Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer! Why need she have hurried away so precipitately? Well, there was no help for it.
Chapter 20 of A Dreadful Temptation is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading “Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “Perhaps the shock would kill her.”
for more time
From this reading “Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “Perhaps the shock would kill her.”
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading “Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.”
information about recent and important events
From this reading “Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.”
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!”
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.
belong to an earlier time
In this reading “Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.”
In this reading “Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.”
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 Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well, there was no help for it.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Well, there was no help for it.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Perhaps the shock would kill her.
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading Perhaps the shock would kill her.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
for more time
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
a condition requiring relief
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
not any; not one
From this reading Well, there was no help for it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
by chance
From this reading Perhaps the shock would kill her.
at breakneck speed
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading Perhaps the shock would kill her.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Perhaps the shock would kill her.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Well, there was no help for it.
a special situation
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
information about recent and important events
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Oh, if Mrs. St. John had but waited a little longer!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Well, there was no help for it.
(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, there was no help for it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why need she have hurried away so precipitately?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Howard did not know what to do: it seemed such a terrible thing to go back to Lora with bad tidings.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Perhaps the shock would kill her.
Chapter 20 of A Dreadful Temptation by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller holds 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 20 holds 57 sentences of A Dreadful Temptation, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Dreadful Temptation by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 20 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 A Dreadful Temptation by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2453 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43911 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43911, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 204 minutes of reading across 491 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Dreadful Temptation section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of A Dreadful Temptation 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 A Dreadful Temptation, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
