Chapter 20 of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor. The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire. "When can I see you?" she asked. "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow." "Now, if you like," Stella responded.
Chapter 20 of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
possessive form of “abbey” — a church associated with a monastery or convent
From this reading “The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.”
plural of “echo” — the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves
From this reading “ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.”
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading “ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.”
a landlord who is a woman
From this reading “The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.”
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading “The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.”
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading “ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.”
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.
possessive form of “abbey” — a church associated with a monastery or convent
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "When can I see you?" she asked.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow."
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "When can I see you?" she asked.
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
plural of “echo” — the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "When can I see you?" she asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Now, if you like," Stella responded.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
a landlord who is a woman
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Now, if you like," Stella responded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now, if you like," Stella responded.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
and nothing more
From this reading "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow."
above and across; more than
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "Now, if you like," Stella responded.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "When can I see you?" she asked.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll only be here to-day and to-morrow."
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
someone who visits
From this reading ECHOES In the early days of February Stella had an unexpected visitor.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
at the time that
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading The landlady called her to the common telephone, and when she took up the receiver, Linda Abbey's voice came over the wire.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "When can I see you?" she asked.
Chapter 20 of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest by Bertrand W. Sinclair holds 358 sentences, grouped into 72 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 358 sentences of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest by Bertrand W. Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 358 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest by Bertrand W. Sinclair 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 Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest 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 Big Timber: A Story of the Northwest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
