Chapter 20 of Esther : a book for girls is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Esther : a book for girls is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SANTA CLAUS. After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled. The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs. But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings. A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
Chapter 20 of Esther : a book for girls is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
comparative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.”
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading “But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.”
heighten or intensify
From this reading “But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.”
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading “But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.”
completed to perfection
From this reading “After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.”
a sign of something about to happen
From this reading “After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.”
confidently optimistic and cheerful
From this reading “After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.”
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading “SANTA CLAUS.”
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 But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
later than; following
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
comparative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SANTA CLAUS.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
on a floor below
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
an abstract part of something
From this reading A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
heighten or intensify
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
a social unit living together
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
completed to perfection
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
past form of “introduce” — cause to come to know personally
From this reading A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
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 But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
a sign of something about to happen
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
confidently optimistic and cheerful
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading SANTA CLAUS.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A brighter element seemed introduced into the house.
a room to which a sick person is confined
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
plural of “visit” — the act of going to see some person or place or thing for a short time
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading After all Allan's sanguine prognostication was not fulfilled.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
at the time that
From this reading But the sickroom was a different place now, when we had Allan's cheery visits to enliven our long evenings.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading The new year had opened well upon us before Carrie joined the family circle downstairs.
Chapter 20 of Esther : a book for girls by Rosa Nouchette Carey holds 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 162 sentences of Esther : a book for girls, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Esther : a book for girls by Rosa Nouchette Carey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Esther : a book for girls by Rosa Nouchette Carey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3452 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6850 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6850, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 287 minutes of reading across 691 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Esther : a book for girls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Esther : a book for girls 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 Esther : a book for girls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
