Chapter 20 of ODTAA: A novel is here in full — 393 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 ODTAA: A novel is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“We are well out of that,” someone said. “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.” “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree? They’re like a lot of children.” “Children?
Chapter 20 of ODTAA: A novel is here in full — 393 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.
be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading ““These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?”
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading ““They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.””
rid of obstructions
From this reading ““They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.””
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading ““These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?”
plural of “foreigner” — a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
From this reading ““These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “They’re like a lot of children.””
a person, without saying who
From this reading ““We are well out of that,” someone said.”
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading ““They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.””
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 ““They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.””
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 They’re like a lot of children.”
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading They’re like a lot of children.”
rid of obstructions
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
plural of “foreigner” — a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading They’re like a lot of children.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading They’re like a lot of children.”
used to form the superlative
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
a person, without saying who
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They’re like a lot of children.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading “They’ll clear most of that bunch up against the wall.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We are well out of that,” someone said.
(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 “We are well out of that,” someone said.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “These darned foreigners: why can’t they agree?
Chapter 20 of ODTAA: A novel by John Masefield holds 393 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 393 sentences of ODTAA: A novel, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of ODTAA: A novel by John Masefield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 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 ODTAA: A novel by John Masefield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through ODTAA: A novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of ODTAA: A novel 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 ODTAA: A novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
