Chapter 31 of A Debt of Honor is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of A Debt of Honor is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE YOUNG RUNAWAYS. IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen. One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson. Victor looked despondent. He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
Chapter 31 of A Debt of Honor is here in full — 78 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.
without or almost without hope
From this reading “Victor looked despondent.”
a state in midwestern United States
From this reading “IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.”
similarity in appearance or external or superficial details
From this reading “He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.”
plural of “runaway” — an easy victory
From this reading “THE YOUNG RUNAWAYS.”
an acquaintance that you go to school with
From this reading “One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.”
being one more than sixteen
From this reading “IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.”
past form of “trace” — follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
From this reading “He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.”
a combatant who is able to defeat rivals
From this reading “One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.”
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 “IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.”
In this reading “IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.”
In this reading “IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.”
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 IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
without or almost without hope
From this reading Victor looked despondent.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority)
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
a state in midwestern United States
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Victor looked despondent.
not any; not one
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
similarity in appearance or external or superficial details
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
plural of “runaway” — an easy victory
From this reading THE YOUNG RUNAWAYS.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
an acquaintance that you go to school with
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
being one more than sixteen
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
being one more than fifteen
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE YOUNG RUNAWAYS.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
past form of “trace” — follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading IN a small, plainly furnished room in Kansas City sat two boys of sixteen and seventeen.
a combatant who is able to defeat rivals
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One of them was Victor Wentworth, the other his schoolmate and the companion of his flight, Arthur Grigson.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He had a pleasant but weak face, in which little or no resemblance could be traced to his father.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading THE YOUNG RUNAWAYS.
Chapter 31 of A Debt of Honor by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 78 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 31 holds 78 sentences of A Debt of Honor, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of A Debt of Honor by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 78 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 31 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 4537 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51792 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51792, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 378 minutes of reading across 908 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Debt of Honor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of A Debt of Honor 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 Debt of Honor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
