Chapter 2 of Dick Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Dick Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A HEART-BREAKING FINISH. But Kates’ troubles were not over. Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick. Some one yelled for Merriwell. Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
Chapter 2 of Dick Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base
From this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
coming next after the seventh and just before the ninth in position
From this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
position nine in a countable series of things
From this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know)
From this reading “Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.”
plural of “tuft” — a bunch of hair or feathers or growing grass
From this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
someone who twirls a baton
From this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
a university in Connecticut
From this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “Some one yelled for Merriwell.”
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 “Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.”
In this reading “Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.”
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 HEART-BREAKING FINISH.
anew
From this reading Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Kates’ troubles were not over.
put or send forth
From this reading Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
someone who is a detective
From this reading Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
coming next after the seventh and just before the ninth in position
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading A HEART-BREAKING FINISH.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Some one yelled for Merriwell.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A HEART-BREAKING FINISH.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But Kates’ troubles were not over.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Some one yelled for Merriwell.
position nine in a countable series of things
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But Kates’ troubles were not over.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Some one yelled for Merriwell.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
above and across; more than
From this reading But Kates’ troubles were not over.
perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know)
From this reading Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some one yelled for Merriwell.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
in the direction of
From this reading Kates again cast a questioning glance toward Dick.
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading But Kates’ troubles were not over.
plural of “tuft” — a bunch of hair or feathers or growing grass
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
someone who twirls a baton
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But Kates’ troubles were not over.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
a university in Connecticut
From this reading Yale did nothing with the Tufts twirler in the eighth, and Tufts opened the ninth with another two-sack bingle that made the Yale crowd feel sick.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading Some one yelled for Merriwell.
Chapter 2 of Dick Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 2 holds 196 sentences of Dick Merriwell's Backers, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Dick Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 2 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 Dick Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7051 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62930 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62930, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 587 minutes of reading across 1411 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick Merriwell's Backers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Dick Merriwell's Backers 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 Dick Merriwell's Backers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
