Chapter 6 of A Chance for Himself is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of A Chance for Himself is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“ABOUT THAT HALF-DOLLAR.” AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate. Still no deacon; would he never return? Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly. Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
Chapter 6 of A Chance for Himself is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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 timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.”
a Protestant layman who assists the minister
From this reading “Still no deacon; would he never return?”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading “AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.”
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.”
hear with intention
From this reading “Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.”
plural of “pointer” — a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading “Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.”
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading “AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.”
plural of “wheel” — a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
From this reading “AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.”
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.
by a factor of four
In this reading “Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.”
In this reading “AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.”
In this reading “AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.”
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 AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “ABOUT THAT HALF-DOLLAR.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
a Protestant layman who assists the minister
From this reading Still no deacon; would he never return?
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “ABOUT THAT HALF-DOLLAR.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
a small worthless amount
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
immediately past
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
hear with intention
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Still no deacon; would he never return?
not any; not one
From this reading Still no deacon; would he never return?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
on one occasion
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
plural of “pointer” — a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Still no deacon; would he never return?
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still no deacon; would he never return?
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “ABOUT THAT HALF-DOLLAR.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Jack watched the clock, and thought he had never seen the pointers move so slowly.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Three or four times he went to the door to listen; and at last he walked down to the gate.
plural of “wheel” — a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
From this reading AT every sound of wheels Jack started; and more than once he imagined he heard a wagon stop at the gate.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Still no deacon; would he never return?
Chapter 6 of A Chance for Himself by J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge holds 76 sentences, grouped into 16 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 6 holds 76 sentences of A Chance for Himself, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of A Chance for Himself by J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 76 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 6 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 Chance for Himself by J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3536 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56759 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56759, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 294 minutes of reading across 708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Chance for Himself section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of A Chance for Himself 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 Chance for Himself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
