Chapter 21 of A Life's Secret: A Novel is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of A Life's Secret: A Novel is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A DESCENT FOR MR. SHUCK. Things were coming to a crisis. The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last. The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
Chapter 21 of A Life's Secret: A Novel is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading “Things were coming to a crisis.”
An action of moving downward, dropping, or falling into a deeper place.
From this reading “A DESCENT FOR MR.”
United States poet (1869-1950)
From this reading “The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.”
the possibility of future success
From this reading “The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.”
remove from the shell
From this reading “SHUCK.”
plural of “unionist” — a worker who belongs to a trade union
From this reading “The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.”
(of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified
From this reading “The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.”
past form of “welcome” — accept gladly
From this reading “The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.”
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.
In this reading “The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.”
thrust or extend out
In this reading “The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.”
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 A DESCENT FOR MR.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Things were coming to a crisis.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading Things were coming to a crisis.
An action of moving downward, dropping, or falling into a deeper place.
From this reading A DESCENT FOR MR.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A DESCENT FOR MR.
set up or found
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
immediately past
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
United States poet (1869-1950)
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
the force of workers available
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
a form of address for a man
From this reading A DESCENT FOR MR.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
the possibility of future success
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
remove from the shell
From this reading SHUCK.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Things were coming to a crisis.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Things were coming to a crisis.
plural of “unionist” — a worker who belongs to a trade union
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
(of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Unionists had done their best to hold out against the masters; but they found the effort was untenable--that they must give in at last.
past form of “welcome” — accept gladly
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Things were coming to a crisis.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The prospect of returning to work was eagerly welcomed by the greater portion of the men.
Chapter 21 of A Life's Secret: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood holds 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 21 holds 297 sentences of A Life's Secret: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of A Life's Secret: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 21 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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Yes. All 6641 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38832 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38832, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 553 minutes of reading across 1329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Life's Secret: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Life's Secret: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
