Chapter 13 of Dave Porter's Return to School is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Dave Porter's Return to School is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised. The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay. "All gone?" queried Mike Marcy. "Every dollar!" groaned the widow. "Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!
Chapter 13 of Dave Porter's Return to School is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading “The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.”
a statement that is emphatic and explicit (spoken or written)
From this reading “AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.”
the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading “"Every dollar!" groaned the widow.”
lacking in feeling or pity or warmth
From this reading “"Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!”
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading “"All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.”
inflected form of “query” — pose a question
From this reading “"All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.”
plural of “rascal” — a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading “"Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!”
plural of “villain” — a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “"Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!”
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 “The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.”
In this reading “AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
a statement that is emphatic and explicit (spoken or written)
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.
the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading "Every dollar!" groaned the widow.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading "Every dollar!" groaned the widow.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading "Every dollar!" groaned the widow.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
lacking in feeling or pity or warmth
From this reading "Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading "All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.
inflected form of “query” — pose a question
From this reading "All gone?" queried Mike Marcy.
plural of “rascal” — a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading "Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The others, however, stared in bewilderment and dismay.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
plural of “villain” — a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading "Oh, the rascals, the heartless villains!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
at the time that
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading AT WORK IN THE DARK Dave had more than half expected the declaration the Widow Fairchild made, so when it came he was not surprised.
Chapter 13 of Dave Porter's Return to School by Edward Stratemeyer holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 13 holds 157 sentences of Dave Porter's Return to School, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Dave Porter's Return to School by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 13 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 Dave Porter's Return to School by Edward Stratemeyer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53407 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53407, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 410 minutes of reading across 985 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dave Porter's Return to School section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Dave Porter's Return to School 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 Dave Porter's Return to School, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
