Chapter 20 of Rookwood is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Rookwood is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Hamlet._ Time presses. We may not linger in our course. We must fly on before our flying highwayman. Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath. Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
Chapter 20 of Rookwood is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
(of time) having passed or slipped by
From this reading “Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.”
a community of people smaller than a village
with the head foremost
From this reading “Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.”
remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading “We may not linger in our course.”
plural of “press” — the state of demanding notice or attention
From this reading “_Hamlet._ Time presses.”
firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination
From this reading “Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.”
not made or become different
From this reading “Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.”
plural of “urge” — an instinctive motive
From this reading “Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.”
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 Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading We must fly on before our flying highwayman.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
(of time) having passed or slipped by
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
at any time
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading We must fly on before our flying highwayman.
moving swiftly
From this reading We must fly on before our flying highwayman.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
a community of people smaller than a village
From this reading _Hamlet._ Time presses.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
with the head foremost
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
a holdup man who stops a vehicle and steals from it
From this reading We must fly on before our flying highwayman.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading We must fly on before our flying highwayman.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading We must fly on before our flying highwayman.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
above and across; more than
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
go across or through
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
plural of “press” — the state of demanding notice or attention
From this reading _Hamlet._ Time presses.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath.
not in physical motion
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading _Hamlet._ Time presses.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
not made or become different
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
plural of “urge” — an instinctive motive
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We may not linger in our course.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
but in spite of that
From this reading Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged.
Chapter 20 of Rookwood by William Harrison Ainsworth holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 412 sentences of Rookwood, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Rookwood by William Harrison Ainsworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Rookwood by William Harrison Ainsworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9403 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23564 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23564, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1881 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Rookwood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Rookwood 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 Rookwood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
