Chapter 20 of Stand is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Stand is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin. He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead. At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply. Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights. All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
Chapter 20 of Stand is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.”
darkened with overcast
From this reading “Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.”
having a hole cut through
From this reading “At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.”
in an aggressive manner
From this reading “At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.”
a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)
From this reading “F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.”
plural of “weight” — the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading “Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.”
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 “Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.”
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 F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
possessing life
From this reading He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.
(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 All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
darkened with overcast
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
marked by calm self-control (especially in trying circumstances); unemotional
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.
having a hole cut through
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
only a very short time before
From this reading He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At first the bitter cold had pierced him sharply.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading All sense of touch seemed to have left his hands.
a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
plural of “weight” — the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading Now his arms felt nerveless, like some leaden weights.
in or at the place that
From this reading F-O-Y-N Renaud lay where he had been flung, in a narrow trough of snow that was almost like a coffin.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading He scarce knew whether he was alive or dead.
Chapter 20 of Stand by Hugh McAlister holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 153 sentences of Stand, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Stand by Hugh McAlister exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Stand by Hugh McAlister on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2742 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45490 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45490, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 228 minutes of reading across 549 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stand section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Stand 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 Stand, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
