Chapter 20 of The Shaggy Man of Oz is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Shaggy Man of Oz is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him. He was alone in the tunnel! He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished. Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers. But there was no sign of any living thing.
Chapter 20 of The Shaggy Man of Oz is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
a structure or object that impedes free movement
From this reading “The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.”
plural of “beaver” — the soft brown fur of the beaver
From this reading “Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.”
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading “Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.”
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.”
the quality of not being perceivable by the eye
From this reading “The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.”
used of hair; thick and poorly groomed
From this reading “The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.”
move through by or as by digging
From this reading “He was alone in the tunnel!”
having passed out of existence
From this reading “He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.”
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.
a living (or once living) entity
In this reading “But there was no sign of any living thing.”
In this reading “But there was no sign of any living thing.”
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 He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
at or in the front
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
Having no one else present.
From this reading He was alone in the tunnel!
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
a structure or object that impedes free movement
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
plural of “beaver” — the soft brown fur of the beaver
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was alone in the tunnel!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was alone in the tunnel!
the quality of not being perceivable by the eye
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
and nothing more
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
not any; not one
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
used of hair; thick and poorly groomed
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Barrier of Invisibility Suddenly Shaggy stopped and stared about him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
a special situation
From this reading But there was no sign of any living thing.
move through by or as by digging
From this reading He was alone in the tunnel!
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
having passed out of existence
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was alone in the tunnel!
at the time that
From this reading He had been walking along looking at nothing in particular, when in a flash his companions had vanished.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Just ahead of him he could hear the excited chattering of the twenty young beavers.
Chapter 20 of The Shaggy Man of Oz by Jack Snow holds 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 69 sentences of The Shaggy Man of Oz, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Shaggy Man of Oz by Jack Snow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 Shaggy Man of Oz by Jack Snow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2179 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56683 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56683, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 181 minutes of reading across 436 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Shaggy Man of Oz section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Shaggy Man of Oz 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 Shaggy Man of Oz, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
