Chapter 20 of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky. "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister. "His father, King Padella.
Chapter 20 of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “"Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “"Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.”
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “"We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.”
impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading “"Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.”
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading “"We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.”
make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading “"We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.”
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “"Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.”
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “"We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.”
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 "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
later than; following
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "His father, King Padella.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading "His father, King Padella.
impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "His father, King Padella.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
sullen or moody
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
express in words
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We shall have a war, Sire, depend on it," says the Minister.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Talk about business after breakfast, I tell you!" says his Majesty, quite sulky.
Chapter 20 of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh by William Makepeace Thackeray holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 164 sentences of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh by William Makepeace Thackeray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh by William Makepeace Thackeray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3765 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2731 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2731, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 313 minutes of reading across 753 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh 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 Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
