Chapter 20 of The Happy Foreigner is here in full — 340 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Happy Foreigner is here in full — 340 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind. In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones. "But have you any eggs?" "No eggs this morning." "Any butter?"
Chapter 20 of The Happy Foreigner is here in full — 340 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/68 · 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 “arch” — a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
From this reading “In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.”
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading “"Any butter?"”
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading “"But have you any eggs?"”
the motion made by flapping up and down
From this reading “THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.”
the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
From this reading “In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.”
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading “In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.”
plural of “shop” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.”
the Romance language spoken in most of Spain and the countries colonized by Spain
From this reading “THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.”
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 THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "But have you any eggs?"
plural of “arch” — a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But have you any eggs?"
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading "Any butter?"
a low-lying region in central France
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading "But have you any eggs?"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the motion made by flapping up and down
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "But have you any eggs?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
immediately past
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "No eggs this morning."
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
not any; not one
From this reading "No eggs this morning."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
plural of “shop” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
the Romance language spoken in most of Spain and the countries colonized by Spain
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
make square
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "No eggs this morning."
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In the shops under the arches, in the market in the centre of the Square, they were selling anemones.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading THE LAST DAY Around the Spanish Square the first sun-awnings had been put up in the night, awnings red and yellow, flapping in the mountain wind.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But have you any eggs?"
Chapter 20 of The Happy Foreigner by Enid Bagnold holds 340 sentences, grouped into 68 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 340 sentences of The Happy Foreigner, unabridged, divided into 68 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Happy Foreigner by Enid Bagnold exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 340 sentences, grouped into 68 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 68 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 68 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 Happy Foreigner by Enid Bagnold on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4563 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9978 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9978, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 380 minutes of reading across 913 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Happy Foreigner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Happy Foreigner 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 Happy Foreigner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
