Chapter 20 of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 is here in full — 73 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 is here in full — 73 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed. Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said: “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise. But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!” “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
Chapter 20 of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 is here in full — 73 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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 power or right to give orders or make decisions
From this reading ““The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.”
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading “But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!””
raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
From this reading “But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!””
deeply or markedly affected or influenced
From this reading “NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.”
of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
From this reading “But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!””
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.”
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading ““It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading ““It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.”
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 But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
the power or right to give orders or make decisions
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
deeply or markedly affected or influenced
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
immediately past
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
above and across; more than
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
Identical; not different.
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “The first shall be last and the last first—there’s authority for this surprise.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Finally Noel came up out of his thinkings and said:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But at the same time wasn’t it a lofty hoist for our big bull!”
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading NOEL and I went back together—silent at first, and impressed.
but in spite of that
From this reading “It truly was; I am not over being stunned yet.
Chapter 20 of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 by Mark Twain holds 73 sentences, grouped into 15 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 73 sentences of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 73 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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.
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Yes. All 3831 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2874 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2874, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 767 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1 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 Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
