Chapter XI of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy, “At the Savings Bank,” is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter XI of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy, “At the Savings Bank,” is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession. He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up. “Forty dollars!” He could hardly believe his eyes. How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?
Chapter XI of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy, “At the Savings Bank,” is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
From this reading “He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.”
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading “He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.”
being ten more than thirty
From this reading ““Forty dollars!””
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.”
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?”
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading “Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.”
possessive form of “paul” — United States feminist (1885-1977)
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading “Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.”
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 ““Forty dollars!””
In this reading “Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.”
In this reading “How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading He could hardly believe his eyes.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could hardly believe his eyes.
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading “Forty dollars!”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He could hardly believe his eyes.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “Forty dollars!”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
only a very short time before
From this reading He could hardly believe his eyes.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He could hardly believe his eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
and nothing more
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
set down according to a plan
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
possessive form of “paul” — United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
except for; apart from
From this reading How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?
rescued; especially from the power and consequences of sin
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was eager to ascertain how much Paul had saved up.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Old Jerry laid down Paul’s coat, and opened the bank book, of which he had just obtained possession.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading How in the world could Paul have managed to save up forty dollars?
Chapter 11 of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 11 holds 131 sentences of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 11 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 Adventures of a Telegraph Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4170 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52616 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52616, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 347 minutes of reading across 834 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Adventures of a Telegraph Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Adventures of a Telegraph Boy 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 Adventures of a Telegraph Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
