Chapter 20 of The Confession: A Novel is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Confession: A Novel is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Night overtook us. "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest." We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath. We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea. I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
Chapter 20 of The Confession: A Novel is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
cooked in hot water
From this reading “We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.”
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
inflected form of “overtake” — catch up with and possibly overtake
From this reading “Night overtook us.”
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
creating fabric
From this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
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.
institute, enact, or establish
In this reading “We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.”
In this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
In this reading “We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.”
In this reading “"Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."”
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 "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
cooked in hot water
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
start firing a weapon
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
set up or found
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Night overtook us.
inflected form of “overtake” — catch up with and possibly overtake
From this reading Night overtook us.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Stop," he said, "let us find a place to rest."
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Night overtook us.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading We lay down in its warm shadow and built a fire and boiled tea.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
creating fabric
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading We found a shelter underneath a large rock which had been torn away from its mother mountain, and the brush grew upon it, weaving itself into a dark carpet underneath.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I asked him: "Father, what were you telling me?"
Chapter 20 of The Confession: A Novel by Maksim Gorky holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 192 sentences of The Confession: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Confession: A Novel by Maksim Gorky exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Confession: A Novel by Maksim Gorky on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5472 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55828 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55828, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 456 minutes of reading across 1095 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Confession: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Confession: A Novel 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 Confession: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
