Chapter 1 of Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Besides, as you said, it's an off season." "You won't give me more?" "No." Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game. Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
Chapter 1 of Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 22/26 · 5 reading units · Lines 106–110
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.
British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953)
From this reading “Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.”
strips of potato fried in deep fat
From this reading “Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.”
a rattling noise (often produced by rapid movement)
From this reading “Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.”
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading “Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.”
given to or marked by the consumption of alcohol
From this reading “Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.”
any material that fills a space or container
From this reading “Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.”
past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else
From this reading “Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.”
plural of “snore” — the rattling noise produced when snoring
From this reading “Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
in addition to; as well as
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953)
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
strips of potato fried in deep fat
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
a rattling noise (often produced by rapid movement)
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
given to or marked by the consumption of alcohol
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
any material that fills a space or container
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "You won't give me more?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
in a helpless manner
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You won't give me more?"
past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "You won't give me more?"
not any; not one
From this reading "No."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
plural of “snore” — the rattling noise produced when snoring
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Blair looked impotently about the room, but his former companions had returned to their game.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Filling in the silence, the dull clatter of chips mingled with the drunken snores of the man on the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You won't give me more?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Besides, as you said, it's an off season."
Chapter 1 of Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman by Will Lillibridge holds 134 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 1 holds 134 sentences of Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman by Will Lillibridge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 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 1 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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Words and structures a reader meets early in Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
