Chapter XX of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China, “The Pearl of Kai-Nong,” is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter XX of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China, “The Pearl of Kai-Nong,” is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor: “Is there a harem connected with the palace?” “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.” “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe. “He had none at all.
Chapter XX of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China, “The Pearl of Kai-Nong,” is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading “We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:”
being joined in close association
From this reading ““Is there a harem connected with the palace?””
plural of “creature” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:”
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading “We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:”
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading “We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:”
living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household
From this reading ““Is there a harem connected with the palace?””
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading ““Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.””
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading ““Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.”
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.
as might be expected
In this reading ““Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.””
move so as not face somebody or something
In this reading “We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:”
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 “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
(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 “He had none at all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “He had none at all.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
being joined in close association
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
plural of “creature” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He had none at all.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
not one, and not any
From this reading “He had none at all.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
a large and stately mansion
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were glad to turn away from these disgusting and fearful creatures, and Archie asked our conductor:
a midwestern state in north central United States
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Is there a harem connected with the palace?”
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “Had the late Prince many wives?” inquired Joe.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Of course,” said Wi; “but you are not permitted to visit it.”
Chapter 20 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum holds 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 137 sentences of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Boy Fortune Hunters in China by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3007 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55767 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55767, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 250 minutes of reading across 602 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Fortune Hunters in China section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China 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 Boy Fortune Hunters in China, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
