Chapter 20 of The house without a key is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The house without a key is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door. Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva. She had a worried air. "Are you all right, John Quincy?" she inquired. "Surely.
Chapter 20 of The house without a key is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
aroused or activated
From this reading “THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.”
inflected form of “don” — put clothing on one's body
From this reading “Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.”
(Roman mythology) goddess of wisdom; counterpart of Greek Athena
From this reading “Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.”
American patriot who presented the colonists' grievances to the English king (1744-1775)
From this reading “THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.”
in a sleepy manner
From this reading “Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.”
plural of “slipper” — low footwear that can be slipped on and off easily; usually worn indoors
From this reading “Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.”
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading “She had a worried air.”
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.
(rugby) knocking the ball forward while trying to catch it (a foul)
In this reading “THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.”
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 THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading She had a worried air.
(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 "Are you all right, John Quincy?" she inquired.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you all right, John Quincy?" she inquired.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
aroused or activated
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
inflected form of “don” — put clothing on one's body
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had a worried air.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs together with yttrium; forms highly magnetic compounds
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "Are you all right, John Quincy?" she inquired.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
(Roman mythology) goddess of wisdom; counterpart of Greek Athena
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
American patriot who presented the colonists' grievances to the English king (1744-1775)
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Are you all right, John Quincy?" she inquired.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had a worried air.
in a sleepy manner
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
plural of “slipper” — low footwear that can be slipped on and off easily; usually worn indoors
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "Surely.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rising sleepily and donning dressing-gown and slippers, he opened it to admit his Aunt Minerva.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE STORY OF LAU HO Early Sunday morning John Quincy was awakened by a sharp knock on his door.
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading She had a worried air.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you all right, John Quincy?" she inquired.
Chapter 20 of The house without a key by Earl Derr Biggers holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of The house without a key, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The house without a key by Earl Derr Biggers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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.
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Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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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 house without a key, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
