Chapter 30 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
M. BOURDON'S LITTLE SCHEME. Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down. He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station. He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped. "Your ticket, monsieur."
Chapter 30 of A Boy's Fortune is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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 mountain or tall hill
From this reading “Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.”
-ing form of “congratulate” — say something to someone that expresses praise
From this reading “He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.”
having gaps or spaces
From this reading “He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.”
using the minimum of time or resources necessary for effectiveness
From this reading “Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.”
having unexpected good fortune
From this reading “He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.”
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading “He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.”
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading “M. BOURDON'S LITTLE SCHEME.”
a commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public entertainment)
From this reading “"Your ticket, monsieur."”
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 “He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.”
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 Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M. BOURDON'S LITTLE SCHEME.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
-ing form of “congratulate” — say something to someone that expresses praise
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
having gaps or spaces
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
using the minimum of time or resources necessary for effectiveness
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
having unexpected good fortune
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading M. BOURDON'S LITTLE SCHEME.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M. BOURDON'S LITTLE SCHEME.
at the same time but in another place
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading "Your ticket, monsieur."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading M. BOURDON'S LITTLE SCHEME.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading He entered the building, and was about passing to the platform, when he was stopped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
a commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public entertainment)
From this reading "Your ticket, monsieur."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Meanwhile Ben had entered a third-class carriage--it behooved him to be economical now--and sat down.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
at the time that
From this reading He was congratulating himself on his fortunate escape, when M. Bourdon dashed up to the station.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Your ticket, monsieur."
Chapter 30 of A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 30 holds 109 sentences of A Boy's Fortune, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of A Boy's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 30 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.
