Chapter 20 of Light-Fingered Gentry is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Light-Fingered Gentry is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him. "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked. "Yes—I read—all." "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm. She did not answer.
Chapter 20 of Light-Fingered Gentry is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
react verbally
From this reading “She did not answer.”
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading “"It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.”
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading “"You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.”
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading “"Yes—I read—all."”
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading “"You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.”
witty language used to convey insults or scorn
From this reading “"It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.”
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
From this reading “"It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.”
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “"Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.”
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.
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 "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
(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 "Yes—I read—all."
react verbally
From this reading She did not answer.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not answer.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Yes—I read—all."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
not any; not one
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not answer.
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading "Yes—I read—all."
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
witty language used to convey insults or scorn
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Let’s talk no more about it," she said to him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes—I read—all."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It must have been painful to you," said he with stolid sarcasm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You’ve been reading the papers?" he asked.
Chapter 20 of Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 394 sentences of Light-Fingered Gentry, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8149 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48621 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48621, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1630 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Light-Fingered Gentry section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Light-Fingered Gentry 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 Light-Fingered Gentry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
