Chapter 20 of Ancestors: A Novel is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Ancestors: A Novel is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly. "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night. It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair. What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters! That is as far as we have ever got.
Chapter 20 of Ancestors: A Novel is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading “"That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.”
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.”
well known or easily recognized
From this reading “"But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.”
associated with women and not with men
From this reading “It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.”
plural of “lapse” — a mistake resulting from inattention
From this reading “It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.”
a relationship between two lovers
From this reading “What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!”
an argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage
From this reading “What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.”
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 “It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.”
In this reading “"That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.”
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 What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading That is as far as we have ever got.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
at any time
From this reading That is as far as we have ever got.
well known or easily recognized
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading That is as far as we have ever got.
associated with women and not with men
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading That is as far as we have ever got.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
plural of “lapse” — a mistake resulting from inattention
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
a relationship between two lovers
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
except for; apart from
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
an argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
a special situation
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That is the one decent thing you have said to me to-night.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading That is as far as we have ever got.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a night for romance, and you and I sparring like two prize-fighters!
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading It is these sudden lapses into the wholly feminine that save me from despair.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But you are not so familiar with the road," murmured Isabel, irrepressibly.
Chapter 20 of Ancestors: A Novel by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of Ancestors: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Ancestors: A Novel by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Ancestors: A Novel by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ancestors: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Ancestors: A Novel 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 Ancestors: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
