Chapter 20 of The Northern Iron is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Northern Iron is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The boat sped seawards. The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather. It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet. Una sat in the stern and held the tiller. Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.
Chapter 20 of The Northern Iron is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading “It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.”
past form of “freshen” — make (to feel) fresh
From this reading “The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.”
past form of “glisten” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading “Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.”
any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading “It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.”
inflected form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading “The boat sped seawards.”
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading “Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.”
a shoot that sprouts from the base of a grass
From this reading “Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.”
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 It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
later than; following
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading The boat sped seawards.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
past form of “freshen” — make (to feel) fresh
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
past form of “glisten” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her eyes glistened with excitement and delight.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.
in the direction of the sea
From this reading The boat sped seawards.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
to, toward, or in the southeast
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
inflected form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading The boat sped seawards.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boat sped seawards.
a shoot that sprouts from the base of a grass
From this reading Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Una sat in the stern and held the tiller.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It blew now from the south-east, and the boat reached out with a free sheet.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The wind had freshened since the morning, and worked round after the sun, as the wind does in settled weather.
Chapter 20 of The Northern Iron by George A. Birmingham holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 134 sentences of The Northern Iron, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Northern Iron by George A. Birmingham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 Northern Iron by George A. Birmingham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6050 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24140 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24140, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 504 minutes of reading across 1210 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Northern Iron section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Northern Iron 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 Northern Iron, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
