Chapter 20 of Captured by the Arabs is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Captured by the Arabs is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter. "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure. "Let's have a look at the strange drawings." The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall. Bob nodded.
Chapter 20 of Captured by the Arabs is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
-ing form of “burst” — come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading “The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.”
plural of “drawing” — an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading “"Let's have a look at the strange drawings."”
plural of “elephant” — five-toed pachyderm
From this reading “The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.”
a long narrow depression in a surface
From this reading “"Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.”
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.”
a physiological need to drink
From this reading “The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.”
plural of “youth” — a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading “The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.”
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 youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.”
give sudden release to an expression
In this reading “The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “"Let's have a look at the strange drawings."”
In this reading “"Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.”
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 "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
the lower side of anything
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
-ing form of “burst” — come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
plural of “drawing” — an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
plural of “elephant” — five-toed pachyderm
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
a long narrow depression in a surface
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
intense and profound fear
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
the sound of laughing
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
in motion
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Bob nodded.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading "Let's have a look at the strange drawings."
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading "Come on," suggested Joe, moving slowly down the side of the fissure.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
a physiological need to drink
From this reading The Horror of Thirst "Elephants?" asked Bob, almost bursting out in laughter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
in or at the place that
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
plural of “youth” — a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading The youths slid to the bottom, where Dr. Kirshner stood staring at the wall.
Chapter 20 of Captured by the Arabs by James H. Foster holds 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 172 sentences of Captured by the Arabs, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Captured by the Arabs by James H. Foster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 Captured by the Arabs by James H. Foster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43267 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43267, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 305 minutes of reading across 732 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Captured by the Arabs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Captured by the Arabs 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 Captured by the Arabs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
