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Twenty years after
Twenty years after

Chapter XXI · Chapter 21

Chapter 21 of Twenty years after is here in full — 542 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

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Context Illustration Reading 1/108 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.
At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.
At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.
The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.
The curate then entered, followed by Planchet.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Twenty years after

Chapter XXI · Chapter 21

Chapter 21 of Twenty years after is here in full — 542 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/108 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.
Line 2
At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.
Line 3
At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.
Line 4
The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.
Line 5
The curate then entered, followed by Planchet.

Learner Dictionary

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.

announced adjective US /əˈnaʊnst/

declared publicly; made widely known

From this reading “At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.”

curate noun US /ˈkjʊrət/

a person authorized to conduct religious worship

From this reading “At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.”

glanced verb US /ɡlænst/

past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at

From this reading “The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.”

o'clock adverb US /əˈklɑːk/

according to the clock

palace noun US /ˈpæləs/

a large and stately mansion

From this reading “At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.”

quarter noun US /ˈkwɔːrtər/

one of four equal parts

From this reading “At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.”

rapidly adverb US /ˈræpədli/

with speed

From this reading “The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.”

Tower noun US /ˈtaʊər/

a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building

From this reading “The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.”

All words in this reading · 42

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

announcedadjectiveUS /əˈnaʊnst/

declared publicly; made widely known

From this reading At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.

anotherdeterminerUS /əˈnʌðər/

one more of the same kind, or a different one

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

archiepiscopaladjective

of or associated with an archbishop

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

Boucherie

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

businessnounUS /ˈbɪznəs/

a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

coadjutornoun

an assistant to a bishop

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

curatenounUS /ˈkjʊrət/

a person authorized to conduct religious worship

From this reading At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.

denounUS /diː/

a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

enteredverbUS /ˈentərd/

past form of “enter” — to come or go into

From this reading The curate then entered, followed by Planchet.

finishedadjectiveUS /ˈfɪnɪʃt/

(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

followedverbUS /ˈfɑːloʊd/

past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

glancedverbUS /ɡlænst/

past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

Gondy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

Jacques

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

lanounUS /lɑː/

a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

Merri

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.

MonsieurnounUS /məˈsjɜːr/

used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

o'clockadverbUS /əˈklɑːk/

according to the clock

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

palacenounUS /ˈpæləs/

a large and stately mansion

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

Planchetnoun

a flat metal disk ready for stamping as a coin

From this reading The curate then entered, followed by Planchet.

quarternounUS /ˈkwɔːrtər/

one of four equal parts

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

rapidlyadverbUS /ˈræpədli/

with speed

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

returnedverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrnd/

past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

sawverbUS /sɔː/

cut with a saw

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

sixnounUS /sɪks/

the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

St

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The coadjutor glanced rapidly behind and saw that he was followed by another man.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading The curate then entered, followed by Planchet.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading At a quarter to six o’clock, Monsieur de Gondy, having finished his business, returned to the archiepiscopal palace.

TowernounUS /ˈtaʊər/

a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building

From this reading The Tower of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading At six o’clock the curate of St. Merri was announced.

Chapter 21 of Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas holds 542 sentences, grouped into 109 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.

What does chapter 21 of Twenty years after contain?

Chapter 21 holds 542 sentences of Twenty years after, unabridged, divided into 109 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 21 of Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 542 sentences, grouped into 109 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.

How do I study chapter 21 of Twenty years after?

Work through the 109 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 109 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.

Can chapter 21 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 21 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.

Questions about reading Twenty years after

Common questions about reading Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Twenty years after?

Yes. All 15265 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1259 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Twenty years after is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #1259, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 600 minutes of reading across 3053 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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  1. Open a chapter

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  3. Listen and tap

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Vocabulary met early in Twenty years after

Words and structures a reader meets early in Twenty years after, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Chapter
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twenty years after; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Noble
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twenty years after; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Natures
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twenty years after; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Never
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twenty years after; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.