Chapter XXIII of Finding the Lost Treasure, “Shelter,” is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIII of Finding the Lost Treasure, “Shelter,” is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted. Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home. “But my team—” began Jack. The man cut him short. “I’ll look after it.
Chapter XXIII of Finding the Lost Treasure, “Shelter,” is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.”
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
From this reading “After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.”
to come or go into
From this reading “Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.”
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.”
brusque and surly and forbidding
From this reading “After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.”
a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading “After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.”
a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
From this reading ““But my team—” began Jack.”
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 “After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.”
In this reading “Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.”
In this reading “After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.”
keep under careful scrutiny
In this reading ““I’ll look after it.”
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 After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
later than; following
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “But my team—” began Jack.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But my team—” began Jack.
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading The man cut him short.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
to come or go into
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
brusque and surly and forbidding
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ll look after it.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I’ll look after it.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “I’ll look after it.
engage in
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “But my team—” began Jack.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading The man cut him short.
a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
From this reading “But my team—” began Jack.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading After an interval, a light appeared; the door opened a crack, and a gruff voice demanded what was wanted.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Jack, in a few words, explained his presence and the man immediately threw wide the door, bidding him enter and make himself at home.
Chapter 23 of Finding the Lost Treasure by Helen M. Persons holds 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 23 holds 124 sentences of Finding the Lost Treasure, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Finding the Lost Treasure by Helen M. Persons exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 23 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 Finding the Lost Treasure by Helen M. Persons on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2958 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43937 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43937, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 246 minutes of reading across 592 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Finding the Lost Treasure section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Finding the Lost Treasure 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 Finding the Lost Treasure, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
