Chapter 20 of The Flirt is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Flirt is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother. "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl." "Yes, she is. She dances well, too." "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
Chapter 20 of The Flirt is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
plural of “dance” — an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading “She dances well, too."”
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “"I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.”
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading “"I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."”
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading “"I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.”
not often
From this reading “"Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."”
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading “"Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."”
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading “"I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.”
produce a literary work
From this reading “"I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.”
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 "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
(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 "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
any thing at all
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
for the reason that
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
without stop or interruption
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
plural of “dance” — an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading She dances well, too."
a young female
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Yes, she is.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
express in words
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
not often
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading "Of course," continued Mrs. Lindley, thoughtfully, "she seldom _says_ anything interesting, but that may be because she so seldom has a chance to say anything at all."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading She dances well, too."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I've always thought she was an interesting-looking girl."
(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 She dances well, too."
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
produce a literary work
From this reading "I imagine she might have something to write worth reading," said his mother.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, she is.
Chapter 20 of The Flirt by Booth Tarkington holds 204 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 204 sentences of The Flirt, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Flirt by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Flirt by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4860 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #297 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #297, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 972 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Flirt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Flirt 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 Flirt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
