Chapter XVII of Digging for Gold: A Story of California, “Grant Gets a Job,” is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVII of Digging for Gold: A Story of California, “Grant Gets a Job,” is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant. “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise. “Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently. “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant. “Three dollars and my dinner.
Chapter XVII of Digging for Gold: A Story of California, “Grant Gets a Job,” is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
in a self-satisfied manner
From this reading ““Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.”
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading ““Three dollars and my dinner.”
-ing form of “earn” — earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
From this reading ““Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.”
let have
From this reading “An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.”
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading ““How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.”
-ing form of “saw” — cut with a saw
From this reading “An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.”
resembling a sound of violent tearing as of something ripped apart or lightning splitting a tree
From this reading “An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.”
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 ““Three dollars and my dinner.”
at or in the front
In this reading “An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.”
In this reading ““Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.”
In this reading ““Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.”
In this reading ““What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.”
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 An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
in a self-satisfied manner
From this reading “Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “Three dollars and my dinner.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading “Three dollars and my dinner.
-ing form of “earn” — earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
From this reading “Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
let have
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading “Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Three dollars and my dinner.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
-ing form of “saw” — cut with a saw
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Earning some money,” answered Tom complacently.
resembling a sound of violent tearing as of something ripped apart or lightning splitting a tree
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Three dollars and my dinner.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
male cat
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “How much will you get for the job?” asked Grant.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading An hour later Grant was surprised to come across Tom sawing and splitting wood in front of a restaurant.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What are you doing, Tom?” he asked, in surprise.
Chapter 17 of Digging for Gold: A Story of California by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 17 holds 79 sentences of Digging for Gold: A Story of California, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Digging for Gold: A Story of California by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 17 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 Digging for Gold: A Story of California by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4804 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53095 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53095, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 400 minutes of reading across 961 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Digging for Gold: A Story of California section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Digging for Gold: A Story of California 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 Digging for Gold: A Story of California, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
