Chapter 23 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA. It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings. He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself. Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain. On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
Chapter 23 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
plural of “border” — a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading “ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.”
precise; explicit and clearly defined
From this reading “He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.”
a native or inhabitant of Europe
From this reading “It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.”
a city in southwestern Switzerland at the western end of Lake Geneva; it is the headquarters of various international organizations
From this reading “ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.”
a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading “He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.”
an old word meaning “to this place”
From this reading “He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.”
an old word meaning “to that place”
From this reading “He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.”
plural of “wandering” — travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading “It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.”
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.
In this reading “Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.”
In this reading “ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.”
proceed or get along
In this reading “On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.”
keep under careful scrutiny
In this reading “It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
plural of “border” — a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
precise; explicit and clearly defined
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
a native or inhabitant of Europe
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
apart from; not including
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
a city in southwestern Switzerland at the western end of Lake Geneva; it is the headquarters of various international organizations
From this reading ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
an old word meaning “to this place”
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
not any; not one
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
past form of “succeed” — attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
an old word meaning “to that place”
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
precisely as stated
From this reading On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
plural of “wandering” — travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading It is time to look after our hero in his European wanderings.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
(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 On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading Whether he succeeded in doing this was by no means certain.
which person or people
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading On the whole, he and Ben got along very well together.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had been travelling hither and thither with his guardian, who appeared to have no definite aim except to enjoy himself.
Chapter 23 of A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 101 sentences, grouped into 21 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 23 holds 101 sentences of A Boy's Fortune, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 101 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 23 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.
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Yes. All 4381 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52017 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52017, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 365 minutes of reading across 877 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Boy's Fortune section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Boy's Fortune 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 A Boy's Fortune, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
