Chapter 20 of Footprints is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Footprints is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood. She glanced at the page in her hand. After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it. What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused? She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
Chapter 20 of Footprints is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
plural of “crease” — an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading “She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.”
the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)
From this reading “After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.”
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading “She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.”
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
From this reading “After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.”
plural of “fingertip” — the end (tip) of a finger
From this reading “I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.”
-ing form of “fray” — wear away by rubbing
From this reading “She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.”
made more desirable or valuable or profitable; especially made ready for use or marketing
From this reading “After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.”
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading “What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?”
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 “She glanced at the page in her hand.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
later than; following
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
(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, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
plural of “crease” — an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
plural of “fingertip” — the end (tip) of a finger
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
-ing form of “fray” — wear away by rubbing
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
made more desirable or valuable or profitable; especially made ready for use or marketing
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
the literary culture
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
creative writing of recognized artistic value
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
only a very short time before
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She glanced at the page in her hand.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She returned the page in her hand to its fraying creases and its envelope.
having come into contact
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading After all, it was the ending; fiction could scarcely have improved upon it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
in or at the place that
From this reading What was it that Lucy had said in one of her letters—something about life permitting where literature refused?
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading I Lynn MacDonald’s reaching fingertips touched smooth wood.
Chapter 20 of Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 205 sentences of Footprints, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6386 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75577 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75577, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 532 minutes of reading across 1278 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Footprints section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Footprints 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 Footprints, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
