Chapter 28 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BEN'S FLIGHT. As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed. On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk. "Well, we got away safely," said Ben. "Yes; the doctor was asleep.
Chapter 28 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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 shelter from danger or hardship
From this reading “On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.”
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “BEN'S FLIGHT.”
possessive form of “ben” — a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “BEN'S FLIGHT.”
well in the past; former
From this reading “As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.”
coming to maturity
From this reading “On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.”
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading “"Well, we got away safely," said Ben.”
a particular situation
From this reading “On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.”
past form of “traverse” — travel across or pass over
From this reading “On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.”
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.
an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes
In this reading “As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.”
In this reading “On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.”
run away from confinement
In this reading “"Well, we got away safely," said Ben.”
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 On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
later than; following
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
in a state of sleep
From this reading "Yes; the doctor was asleep.
a shelter from danger or hardship
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Well, we got away safely," said Ben.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
possessive form of “ben” — a mountain or tall hill
From this reading BEN'S FLIGHT.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
well in the past; former
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading "Yes; the doctor was asleep.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
coming to maturity
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading BEN'S FLIGHT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Well, we got away safely," said Ben.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
one of four equal parts
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading "Well, we got away safely," said Ben.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, we got away safely," said Ben.
a particular situation
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
past form of “traverse” — travel across or pass over
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Yes; the doctor was asleep.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Well, we got away safely," said Ben.
(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 "Well, we got away safely," said Ben.
at the time that
From this reading On emerging from the asylum they at first ran, after putting on their shoes, but when a quarter of a mile had been traversed they dropped into a walk.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading As good luck would have it, Ben and Francois departed without being observed.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes; the doctor was asleep.
Chapter 28 of A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 28 holds 57 sentences of A Boy's Fortune, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 28 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 A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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.
