Chapter 16 of Adrift in the City is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Adrift in the City is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CONSPIRACY. Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious. During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do. At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion. With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
Chapter 16 of Adrift in the City is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining
From this reading “At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.”
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading “THE CONSPIRACY.”
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading “During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.”
characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort
From this reading “Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.”
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.”
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading “Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.”
plural of “price” — the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading “With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.”
(used of persons and their behavior) cultivated and genteel
From this reading “At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.”
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 “At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.”
In this reading “During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.”
In this reading “With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.”
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 such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY.
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
set up or found
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
the local environment
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
plural of “price” — the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
(used of persons and their behavior) cultivated and genteel
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
in the near future
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
the capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY.
in or at that place or location
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
for that reason; as a result
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading At such times he found John Meadows, though not a refined, at any rate an amusing companion.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
precisely as stated
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading During some parts of the day there was little custom, and therefore little to do.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With his friendly help he soon got a general idea of the stock and the prices.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Oliver did not find his work in the store very laborious.
Chapter 16 of Adrift in the City by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 16 holds 83 sentences of Adrift in the City, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Adrift in the City by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 16 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 Adrift in the City by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4712 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56973 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56973, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 943 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Adrift in the City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Adrift in the City 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 Adrift in the City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
