Chapter 20 of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Forsaking all others?" "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too! I'm human. Feelings come over me. I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
Chapter 20 of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
plural of “earring” — jewelry to ornament the ear; usually clipped to the earlobe or fastened through a hole in the lobe
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
the act of forsaking
From this reading “"Forsaking all others?"”
major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
someone with an irrational urge to steal in the absence of an economic motive
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
plural of “tack” — the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails
From this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
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.
a store selling hardware
In this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
In this reading “I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.”
communicate the intended meaning or impression
In this reading “Feelings come over me.”
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 I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
(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 "Forsaking all others?"
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Feelings come over me.
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
plural of “earring” — jewelry to ornament the ear; usually clipped to the earlobe or fastened through a hole in the lobe
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
divisible by two
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
From this reading Feelings come over me.
the act of forsaking
From this reading "Forsaking all others?"
major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading I'm human.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm human.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
someone with an irrational urge to steal in the absence of an economic motive
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
by chance
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Feelings come over me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Forsaking all others?"
above and across; more than
From this reading Feelings come over me.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
plural of “tack” — the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails
From this reading I'm maybe even like a kleptomaniac that can't resist a box of tacks in a hardware store or a pair of cheap earrings on a counter.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes," she said, "I thought about that, too!
Chapter 20 of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower by Philip Wylie holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 398 sentences of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower by Philip Wylie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower by Philip Wylie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62900 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62900, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1998 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower 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 Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
