Chapter 20 of A Prisoner of Morro is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Prisoner of Morro is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN UNEXPECTED PERIL. How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew. Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber. And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway. Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
Chapter 20 of A Prisoner of Morro is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading “Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.”
descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity that occurs late in pregnancy; the fetus is said to have dropped
From this reading “And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “AN UNEXPECTED PERIL.”
worried and uneasy
From this reading “Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.”
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading “Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.”
United States painter best known for his portraits of George Washington (1755-1828)
From this reading “Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.”
the first light of day
From this reading “How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.”
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 Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED PERIL.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
past form of “dare” — take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
opinion or judgment
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
in a gradual manner
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
only a very short time before
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity that occurs late in pregnancy; the fetus is said to have dropped
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
easily agitated
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED PERIL.
worried and uneasy
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
only a very short time before
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
United States painter best known for his portraits of George Washington (1755-1828)
From this reading Bessie Stuart, exhausted by her long nervous strain, sank into a restless slumber.
the first light of day
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading How the long hours between then and sunrise passed away those two hardly knew.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED PERIL.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Clif wanted to feel happy, but he scarcely dared.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And Clif sat with his eyes fixed on the gradually lightening doorway.
Chapter 20 of A Prisoner of Morro by Upton Sinclair holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 96 sentences of A Prisoner of Morro, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Prisoner of Morro by Upton Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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.
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Yes. All 4062 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24770 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24770, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 338 minutes of reading across 813 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Prisoner of Morro section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of A Prisoner of Morro 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 Prisoner of Morro, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
