Chapter IV of Dick Merriwell's Pranks, “The Challenge,” is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter IV of Dick Merriwell's Pranks, “The Challenge,” is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major. They sat up and looked at each other. The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme. “She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn. “She meant yo’, suh!” snapped Fitts.
Chapter IV of Dick Merriwell's Pranks, “The Challenge,” is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.”
an old word for “before”
From this reading “The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.”
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading “The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.”
occurring at or forming an end or termination
From this reading “The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.”
past form of “rasp” — scrape with a rasp
From this reading ““She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn.”
cause to regain consciousness
From this reading “The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.”
(Old Testament) the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac
From this reading “The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.”
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading ““She meant yo’, suh!” snapped Fitts.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “They sat up and looked at each other.”
In this reading “The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They sat up and looked at each other.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading They sat up and looked at each other.
an old word for “before”
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
occurring at or forming an end or termination
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She meant yo’, suh!” snapped Fitts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading They sat up and looked at each other.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading They sat up and looked at each other.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
past form of “rasp” — scrape with a rasp
From this reading “She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn.
cause to regain consciousness
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
(Old Testament) the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading They sat up and looked at each other.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
term of address for a man
From this reading “She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “She meant yo’, suh!” snapped Fitts.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She meant yo’, suh!” snapped Fitts.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They sat up and looked at each other.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to revive the professor and the major.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She meant yo’, suh!” snapped Fitts.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “She meant you, sir!” rasped Gunn.
Chapter 4 of Dick Merriwell's Pranks by Burt L. Standish holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 138 sentences of Dick Merriwell's Pranks, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dick Merriwell's Pranks by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Dick Merriwell's Pranks by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6367 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41879 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41879, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 530 minutes of reading across 1274 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick Merriwell's Pranks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Dick Merriwell's Pranks 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 Pranks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
