Chapter 4 of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What am I to do?” A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world. Was he, indeed, without a friend? he asked himself. There was Dr. Parker. Should he apply to him?
Chapter 4 of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
From this reading “Should he apply to him?”
a youthful male person
From this reading “A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading “A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.”
United States saxophonist and leader of the bop style of jazz (1920-1955)
From this reading “There was Dr. Parker.”
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading “A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.”
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.”
being five more than twenty
From this reading “A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.”
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 A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “What am I to do?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
From this reading Should he apply to him?
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Was he, indeed, without a friend? he asked himself.
a youthful male person
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What am I to do?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was Dr. Parker.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Was he, indeed, without a friend? he asked himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Should he apply to him?
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Was he, indeed, without a friend? he asked himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “What am I to do?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
United States saxophonist and leader of the bop style of jazz (1920-1955)
From this reading There was Dr. Parker.
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Should he apply to him?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was Dr. Parker.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “What am I to do?”
being five more than twenty
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was he, indeed, without a friend? he asked himself.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What am I to do?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five pounds, and without a friend in the world.
Chapter 4 of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty holds 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 4 holds 228 sentences of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 4 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 By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4673 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8576 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8576, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 389 minutes of reading across 935 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War 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 By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
