Chapter 17 of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I mean professionally," he blurted out. She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner. "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses. "I suppose I don't feel like it any more. It's hard to take things up again."
Chapter 17 of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading “"I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.”
past form of “blurt” — utter impulsively
From this reading “"I mean professionally," he blurted out.”
a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids
From this reading “"I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.”
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.”
in an unqualified manner
From this reading “"I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.”
in a professional manner
From this reading “"I mean professionally," he blurted out.”
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading “"I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.”
filled with shade
From this reading “She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.”
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 She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
anew
From this reading It's hard to take things up again."
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "I suppose I don't feel like it any more.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
past form of “blurt” — utter impulsively
From this reading "I mean professionally," he blurted out.
a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading "I suppose I don't feel like it any more.
in an unqualified manner
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It's hard to take things up again."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I mean professionally," he blurted out.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I mean professionally," he blurted out.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I suppose I don't feel like it any more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's hard to take things up again."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I suppose I don't feel like it any more.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "I mean professionally," he blurted out.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "I suppose I don't feel like it any more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "I mean professionally," he blurted out.
above and across; more than
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
in a professional manner
From this reading "I mean professionally," he blurted out.
on the contrary
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
filled with shade
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
express a supposition
From this reading "I suppose I don't feel like it any more.
carry out
From this reading It's hard to take things up again."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading It's hard to take things up again."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She drifted across the room to a shadowy corner.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It's hard to take things up again."
a Caucasian
From this reading "I don't know," she said rather flatly, bending over a bowl of white roses.
Chapter 17 of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 by Society of Arts and Sciences (U.S.) [Editor] holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 17 holds 401 sentences of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 by Society of Arts and Sciences (U.S.) [Editor] exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 17 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 O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 by Society of Arts and Sciences (U.S.) [Editor] on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8990 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11721 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11721, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1798 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 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 O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
