Chapter 21 of Rebecca's Promise is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Rebecca's Promise is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rebecca Mary had caught a spy! And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't. When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was. She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch. She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
Chapter 21 of Rebecca's Promise is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field
From this reading “When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.”
without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
From this reading “When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.”
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.”
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading “She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.”
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading “When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.”
(Old Testament) wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau
From this reading “Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!”
catch sight of
From this reading “Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!”
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.”
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.
rest on for support
In this reading “She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.”
In this reading “She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.”
In this reading “She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.”
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 Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
at any time
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!
used to form the superlative
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
(Old Testament) wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau
From this reading Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
catch sight of
From this reading Rebecca Mary had caught a spy!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading She leaned against the door and trembled in every inch.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
at the time that
From this reading When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately she became the most arrant little coward that ever was.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She didn't know what to do with her spy now that she had caught him.
Chapter 21 of Rebecca's Promise by Frances R. (Frances Roberta) Sterrett holds 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 21 holds 171 sentences of Rebecca's Promise, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Rebecca's Promise by Frances R. (Frances Roberta) Sterrett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 21 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 Rebecca's Promise by Frances R. (Frances Roberta) Sterrett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4780 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40024 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40024, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 398 minutes of reading across 956 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Rebecca's Promise section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Rebecca's Promise 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 Rebecca's Promise, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
