Chapter 1 of Ben, the Trapper is here in full — 244 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Ben, the Trapper is here in full — 244 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MOUNTAIN DEMON. A TALE OF THE BLACK HILLS. BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
Chapter 1 of Ben, the Trapper is here in full — 244 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.”
a minor parish official who serves a ceremonial function
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.”
United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964)
From this reading “BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.”
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.”
an evil supernatural being
From this reading “THE MOUNTAIN DEMON.”
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading “BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.”
a professional person trained in library science and engaged in library services
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.”
plural of “plain” — extensive tract of level open land
From this reading “In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.”
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 deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.”
In this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.”
In this reading “In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A TALE OF THE BLACK HILLS.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
a minor parish official who serves a ceremonial function
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading A TALE OF THE BLACK HILLS.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964)
From this reading BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
an evil supernatural being
From this reading THE MOUNTAIN DEMON.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading A TALE OF THE BLACK HILLS.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.
a professional person trained in library science and engaged in library services
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.
the force of workers available
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading THE MOUNTAIN DEMON.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A TALE OF THE BLACK HILLS.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
plural of “plain” — extensive tract of level open land
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading A TALE OF THE BLACK HILLS.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MOUNTAIN DEMON.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading BY MAJOR LEWIS W. CARSON.
the capital of the United States in the District of Columbia and a tourist mecca; George Washington commissioned Charles L'Enfant to lay out the city in 1791
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
relating to or characteristic of the western parts of the world or the West as opposed to the eastern or oriental parts
From this reading In a deep defile among the Black Hills, far out on the western plains, three men had made a camp.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Chapter 1 of Ben, the Trapper by Albert W. Aiken holds 244 sentences, grouped into 49 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 244 sentences of Ben, the Trapper, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Ben, the Trapper by Albert W. Aiken exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 244 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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.
Common questions about reading Ben, the Trapper by Albert W. Aiken on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2941 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65087 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65087, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 589 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ben, the Trapper section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Ben, the Trapper, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
