Chapter 1 of Billy Baxter's Letters is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Billy Baxter's Letters is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him. One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-. Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week. Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish. Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
Chapter 1 of Billy Baxter's Letters is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 23/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 111–115
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.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading “One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.”
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading “Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?”
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading “Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.”
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading “Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.”
plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
From this reading “Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.”
a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
From this reading “Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.”
the day immediately before today
From this reading “Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.”
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.
because of prevailing conditions
In this reading “Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.”
In this reading “Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.”
return home
In this reading “Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading “Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?”
In this reading “Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?”
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 One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
dearly loved
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
a boy or man
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
a man of refinement
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
immediately past
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
engage in
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One Night Pittsburg, PA., August, 189-.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
To recall to mind.
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
at the time that
From this reading Under the circumstances, when he runs for King we can't be for him.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why can't a fellow put on a new suit, make a few calls, and go home like a gentleman?
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
the day immediately before today
From this reading Well, it came yesterday, and you know the finish.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Dear Jim: You remember I wrote you about a sack suit I ordered last week.
Chapter 1 of Billy Baxter's Letters by William J. Kountz holds 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 212 sentences of Billy Baxter's Letters, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Billy Baxter's Letters by William J. Kountz exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 Billy Baxter's Letters by William J. Kountz on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 641 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1920 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1920, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 53 minutes of reading across 129 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Billy Baxter's Letters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Billy Baxter's Letters 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 Billy Baxter's Letters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
