Chapter 20 of The Thin Red Line is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Thin Red Line is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The idea is simply preposterous. I decline to entertain it. I cannot listen to it--not for one moment. Never!" The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
Chapter 20 of The Thin Red Line is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
grow worse
From this reading “I decline to entertain it.”
spoken with emphasis
From this reading “The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.”
provide entertainment for
From this reading “I decline to entertain it.”
a female heir
From this reading “The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.”
Assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering. (Hách dịch, độc đoán, kiêu kỳ.)
From this reading “The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.”
so unreasonable as to invite derision
From this reading “"The idea is simply preposterous.”
and nothing more
From this reading “"The idea is simply preposterous.”
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading “The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.”
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.
(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 The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I cannot listen to it--not for one moment.
grow worse
From this reading I decline to entertain it.
spoken with emphasis
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
provide entertainment for
From this reading I decline to entertain it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I cannot listen to it--not for one moment.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
a female heir
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I decline to entertain it.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "The idea is simply preposterous.
Assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering. (Hách dịch, độc đoán, kiêu kỳ.)
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The idea is simply preposterous.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I decline to entertain it.
hear with intention
From this reading I cannot listen to it--not for one moment.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
a particular point in time
From this reading I cannot listen to it--not for one moment.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never!"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I cannot listen to it--not for one moment.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I cannot listen to it--not for one moment.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
so unreasonable as to invite derision
From this reading "The idea is simply preposterous.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
obstinate in your opinions
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
and nothing more
From this reading "The idea is simply preposterous.
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The idea is simply preposterous.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I decline to entertain it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
which person or people
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The speaker was Mrs. Purling, "heiress of the Purlings"; imperious, emphatic, self-opinionated, as women become who have had their own way all their lives through.
Chapter 20 of The Thin Red Line by Arthur Griffiths holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 198 sentences of The Thin Red Line, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Thin Red Line by Arthur Griffiths exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Thin Red Line by Arthur Griffiths on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7664 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17434, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1533 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Thin Red Line section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Thin Red Line 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 Thin Red Line, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
