Chapter 20 of Jack's Ward is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Jack's Ward is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street. "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon. And Where's your gingerbread?" "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida. "And why wouldn't he let you have it?" said Peg.
Chapter 20 of Jack's Ward is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
plural of “doubt” — the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
cake flavored with ginger
From this reading “And Where's your gingerbread?"”
an agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
past form of “rejoin” — join again
From this reading “DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.”
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.
(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 "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
plural of “doubt” — the state of being unsure of something
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
cake flavored with ginger
From this reading And Where's your gingerbread?"
the act of departing
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
an agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
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 DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
past form of “rejoin” — join again
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "And why wouldn't he let you have it?" said Peg.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
(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 DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "I thought you were going to stay all the forenoon.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Where's your gingerbread?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "And why wouldn't he let you have it?" said Peg.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He wouldn't let me have it," answered Ida.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading DOUBTS AND FEARS "Well, what kept you so long?" asked Peg, impatiently, as Ida rejoined her at the corner of the street.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And Where's your gingerbread?"
Chapter 20 of Jack's Ward by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 116 sentences of Jack's Ward, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Jack's Ward by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 Jack's Ward by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3966 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10729 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10729, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 330 minutes of reading across 794 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jack's Ward section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Jack's Ward 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 Jack's Ward, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
