Chapter 40 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
REVEALED. Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit. It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king. Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said: “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
Chapter 40 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading “Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.”
large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
From this reading “Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.”
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
From this reading “It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.”
a large estate in Spanish-speaking countries
From this reading “Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.”
one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading “Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.”
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading “It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.”
past form of “reveal” — make visible
From this reading “REVEALED.”
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading ““You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.””
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 “Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:”
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 Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
anew
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
a large estate in Spanish-speaking countries
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
past form of “reveal” — make visible
From this reading REVEALED.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading Again did Buffalo Bill pay a visit to the hacienda of the fair hermit.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
(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 “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
during the time that
From this reading Again he was received, and in the garden, as before, while the señorita said:
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was the day following his meeting with the cowboy king.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You have come sooner than I expected, señor; but it is well, as the cowboy king is not here.”
Chapter 40 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise by Prentiss Ingraham holds 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 40 holds 63 sentences of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise by Prentiss Ingraham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 40 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 Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise by Prentiss Ingraham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3467 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64262 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64262, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 288 minutes of reading across 694 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise 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 Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
