Chapter 23 of Mark Twain's Speeches is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Mark Twain's Speeches is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer. I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green. It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley. Then I began to reflect. I began to be sorry.
Chapter 23 of Mark Twain's Speeches is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading “One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.”
past form of “crawl” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.”
someone who pays for goods or services
From this reading “One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.”
superlative of “green” — of the color between blue and yellow in the color spectrum; similar to the color of fresh grass
From this reading “It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.”
any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard rind and sweet juicy flesh
From this reading “It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.”
a major North American river and the chief river of the United States; rises in northern Minnesota and flows southward into the Gulf of Mexico
From this reading “It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.”
hidden from general view or use
From this reading “I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.”
an African melon
From this reading “One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.”
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 One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I began to be sorry.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Then I began to reflect.
past form of “crawl” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
someone who pays for goods or services
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
set up or found
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
superlative of “green” — of the color between blue and yellow in the color spectrum; similar to the color of fresh grass
From this reading It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard rind and sweet juicy flesh
From this reading It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.
a major North American river and the chief river of the United States; rises in northern Minnesota and flows southward into the Gulf of Mexico
From this reading It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
manifest or bring back
From this reading Then I began to reflect.
separated in relationship by a given degree of descent
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
hidden from general view or use
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading I began to be sorry.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then I began to reflect.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading It was the greenest melon in the Mississippi Valley.
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
an African melon
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
in or at the place that
From this reading I crawled off to a secluded spot, where I found that it was green.
during the time that
From this reading One night I stole—I mean I removed—a watermelon from a wagon while the owner was attending to another customer.
Chapter 23 of Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain holds 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 176 sentences of Mark Twain's Speeches, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4769 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3188 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3188, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 397 minutes of reading across 954 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mark Twain's Speeches section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Mark Twain's Speeches 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 Mark Twain's Speeches, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
