Chapter 21 of The Gold Brick is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Gold Brick is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE. She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done. "The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher. "That which the minister gave us. It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
Chapter 21 of The Gold Brick is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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 chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.”
a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts
From this reading “THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.”
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading “She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.”
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading “"That which the minister gave us.”
compacted by ironing
From this reading “She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.”
with pride; in a proud manner
From this reading “She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.”
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “"The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.”
a farm machine for separating seeds or grain from the husks and straw
From this reading “"The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.”
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 “THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.”
In this reading “It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts
From this reading THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "That which the minister gave us.
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
for more time
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading "That which the minister gave us.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading "The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.
compacted by ironing
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
with pride; in a proud manner
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading "The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That which the minister gave us.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
a farm machine for separating seeds or grain from the husks and straw
From this reading "The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She pressed one hand to her bosom, and smiled proudly, as if they ought to be grateful for something she had done.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "That which the minister gave us.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading It is more than three months, and he told me not to wait longer than that."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "The paper--what paper?" questioned Mrs. Thrasher.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "That which the minister gave us.
Chapter 21 of The Gold Brick by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 21 holds 159 sentences of The Gold Brick, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Gold Brick by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 21 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 Gold Brick by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34500, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1598 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gold Brick section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Gold Brick 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 Gold Brick, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
