Chapter 20 of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CONFESSION. Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly. "Is that all?" he asked her. "All," she answered timidly. "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
Chapter 20 of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
with attention; in an attentive manner
From this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading “THE CONFESSION.”
weak from exhaustion
From this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
showing displeasure or anger
From this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading “"All," she answered timidly.”
(of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves
From this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
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 “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
In this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
temporarily
In this reading “Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.”
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 Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
(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 "Is that all?" he asked her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "All," she answered timidly.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Is that all?" he asked her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
with attention; in an attentive manner
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading THE CONFESSION.
weak from exhaustion
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
in an inquiring manner
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
showing displeasure or anger
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is that all?" he asked her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
a particular point in time
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
information about recent and important events
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
not any; not one
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Is that all?" he asked her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CONFESSION.
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading "All," she answered timidly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
(of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
at the time that
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment enquiringly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?"
Chapter 20 of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War by Gustave Aimard holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 146 sentences of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War by Gustave Aimard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War by Gustave Aimard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3796 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40219 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40219, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 316 minutes of reading across 760 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War 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 Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
