Chapter 20 of The World for Sale, Complete is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The World for Sale, Complete is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's a fine day." "Yes, it's beautiful." Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy. Ingolby seemed to understand. A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
Chapter 20 of The World for Sale, Complete is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance
From this reading “Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.”
make a map of; show or establish the features of details of
From this reading “A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.”
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading “A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.”
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading “A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.”
possessing sweep
From this reading “A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.”
determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
From this reading “A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.”
marked by wrinkles
From this reading “A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.”
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's a fine day."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading "Yes, it's beautiful."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
a decorative bedspread (usually quilted)
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "It's a fine day."
the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading "It's a fine day."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ingolby seemed to understand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a fine day."
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
make a map of; show or establish the features of details of
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
above and across; more than
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Ingolby seemed to understand.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
possessing sweep
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
having come into contact
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading Ingolby seemed to understand.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Fleda wanted to ask how he knew, but hesitated from feelings of delicacy.
determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
marked by wrinkles
From this reading A faint reflection of the old whimsical smile touched his lips, and his hands swept over the coverlet as though smoothing out a wrinkled map.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, it's beautiful."
Chapter 20 of The World for Sale, Complete by Gilbert Parker holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of The World for Sale, Complete, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The World for Sale, Complete by Gilbert Parker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 World for Sale, Complete by Gilbert Parker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5953 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6284 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6284, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 496 minutes of reading across 1191 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The World for Sale, Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The World for Sale, Complete 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 World for Sale, Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
