Chapter 20 of The Riddle of the Sands is here in full — 282 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Riddle of the Sands is here in full — 282 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books. The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor. We both spoke together. “Well, what was it?” “Well, what did she say?”
Chapter 20 of The Riddle of the Sands is here in full — 282 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading “The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.”
plural of “cup” — a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading “The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.”
plural of “davy” — English chemist who was a pioneer in electrochemistry and who used it to isolate elements sodium and potassium and barium and boron and calcium and magnesium and chlorine (1778-1829)
From this reading “The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.”
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading “The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.”
the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
From this reading “The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.”
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading “The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.”
confined on all sides
From this reading “The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.”
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 Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
the two together, not just one
From this reading We both spoke together.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
plural of “cup” — a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
plural of “davy” — English chemist who was a pioneer in electrochemistry and who used it to isolate elements sodium and potassium and barium and boron and calcium and magnesium and chlorine (1778-1829)
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Well, what did she say?”
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
set up or found
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Well, what was it?”
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
express in words
From this reading “Well, what did she say?”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, what did she say?”
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading We both spoke together.
confined on all sides
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading We both spoke together.
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We both spoke together.
(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 “Well, what was it?”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The shelf was empty, and its contents were tossed about among the cups and on the floor.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Well, what was it?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading The Little Drab Book I found Davies at the cabin table, surrounded with a litter of books.
Chapter 20 of The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers holds 282 sentences, grouped into 57 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 282 sentences of The Riddle of the Sands, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 282 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6235 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2360 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2360, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 519 minutes of reading across 1247 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Riddle of the Sands section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Riddle of the Sands 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 Riddle of the Sands, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
