Chapter XX of The Automobile Girls at Newport, “Ruth Wakes Up!,” is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter XX of The Automobile Girls at Newport, “Ruth Wakes Up!,” is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda. “Goodness!” she laughed. “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts. I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!” Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
Chapter XX of The Automobile Girls at Newport, “Ruth Wakes Up!,” is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
English clergyman who invented the power loom (1743-1823)
From this reading “Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.”
(of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time
From this reading “Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.”
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading ““It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.”
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading ““Goodness!” she laughed.”
past form of “invite” — increase the likelihood of
From this reading “A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading “Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.”
possessive form of “ruth” — United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading “A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!””
In this reading “I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!””
In this reading “A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!””
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 A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
(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 I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
English clergyman who invented the power loom (1743-1823)
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
(of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
apart from; not including
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
a long fixed look
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading “Goodness!” she laughed.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
past form of “invite” — increase the likelihood of
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
and nothing more
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “Goodness!” she laughed.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
on one occasion
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
possessive form of “ruth” — United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row of bright lights.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.
at the time that
From this reading A curious sight met Ruth’s gaze when she was invited to return to the veranda.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading I’ve come upon a whole army of them all at once!”
Chapter 20 of The Automobile Girls at Newport by Laura Dent Crane holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 158 sentences of The Automobile Girls at Newport, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Automobile Girls at Newport by Laura Dent Crane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 The Automobile Girls at Newport by Laura Dent Crane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3905 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36273 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36273, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 325 minutes of reading across 781 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Automobile Girls at Newport section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Automobile Girls at Newport 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 The Automobile Girls at Newport, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
