Chapter 22 of Ahead of the Show is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of Ahead of the Show is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE. A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent. In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her. A reply came within an hour: "Yours received.
Chapter 22 of Ahead of the Show is here in full — 99 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.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.”
aroused to action
From this reading “A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE.”
station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
From this reading “In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.”
characteristic of a mother
From this reading “A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.”
asked for
From this reading “In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.”
past form of “word” — put into words or an expression
From this reading “A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.”
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 “A reply came within an hour:”
In this reading “In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.”
In this reading “A reply came within an hour:”
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 telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
a silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
aroused to action
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A reply came within an hour:
taking care or paying attention
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading A reply came within an hour:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
characteristic of a mother
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
come together
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading "Yours received.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading A reply came within an hour:
asked for
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
create by training and teaching
From this reading In it Al requested her to come to Rockton by a certain train, and promised to be at the depot to meet her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading A reply came within an hour:
past form of “word” — put into words or an expression
From this reading A telegram, carefully worded so that Mrs. Allston's maternal alarms might not be aroused, was sent.
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading "Yours received.
Chapter 22 of Ahead of the Show by Fred Thorpe holds 99 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 22 holds 99 sentences of Ahead of the Show, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of Ahead of the Show by Fred Thorpe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 99 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 22 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 Ahead of the Show by Fred Thorpe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3491 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39454 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39454, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 699 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ahead of the Show section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Ahead of the Show 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 Ahead of the Show, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
