Chapter 21 of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARION GRAY PLAYS FAIR. Marion Gray was a very charming young woman. Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating. Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way. The ensemble disarmed criticism.
Chapter 21 of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
disapproval expressed by pointing out faults or shortcomings
From this reading “The ensemble disarmed criticism.”
past form of “disarm” — remove offensive capability from
From this reading “The ensemble disarmed criticism.”
a group of musicians playing or singing together
From this reading “The ensemble disarmed criticism.”
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading “Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.”
possessive form of “gray” — a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
having an agreeably pungent taste
From this reading “Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.”
past form of “scrutinize” — to look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
From this reading “Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.”
apart from others
From this reading “Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.”
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.
a young female
In this reading “Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.”
In this reading “MARION GRAY PLAYS FAIR.”
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 Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.
disapproval expressed by pointing out faults or shortcomings
From this reading The ensemble disarmed criticism.
past form of “disarm” — remove offensive capability from
From this reading The ensemble disarmed criticism.
a group of musicians playing or singing together
From this reading The ensemble disarmed criticism.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading MARION GRAY PLAYS FAIR.
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
set up or found
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading MARION GRAY PLAYS FAIR.
possessive form of “gray” — a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARION GRAY PLAYS FAIR.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
having an agreeably pungent taste
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading MARION GRAY PLAYS FAIR.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
on the contrary
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
only a very short time before
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
past form of “scrutinize” — to look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
apart from others
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The ensemble disarmed criticism.
very small
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
precisely as stated
From this reading Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Slight, and rather tiny, she had a piquant face which was fascinating.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Taken separately, scarcely one of her features would be found quite perfect, but one never scrutinized Marion Gray’s face that way.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Marion Gray was a very charming young woman.
Chapter 21 of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance by Burt L. Standish holds 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 21 holds 113 sentences of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 21 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 Fighting Chance by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5589 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63024 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63024, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 465 minutes of reading across 1118 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Dick Merriwell's Fighting Chance 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 Fighting Chance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
