Chapter 5 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE OLD HUT. In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut. Who had built it there? It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector. What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
Chapter 5 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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 the middle of; surrounded by
From this reading “In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.”
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading “In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.”
installation from which a military force initiates operations
From this reading “In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.”
inflected form of “befall” — become of; happen to
From this reading “What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.”
a substance added to soaps or detergents to increase their cleansing action
From this reading “What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.”
past form of “erect” — construct, build, or erect
From this reading “It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.”
temporary military shelter
From this reading “IN THE OLD HUT.”
someone who explores an area for mineral deposits
From this reading “It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.”
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 “In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.”
too obvious to be doubted
In this reading “It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.”
In this reading “In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.”
In this reading “In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.”
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 In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
in the middle of; surrounded by
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
installation from which a military force initiates operations
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
inflected form of “befall” — become of; happen to
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
a substance added to soaps or detergents to increase their cleansing action
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading Who had built it there?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
past form of “erect” — construct, build, or erect
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Who had built it there?
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
temporary military shelter
From this reading IN THE OLD HUT.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE OLD HUT.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Who had built it there?
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
plural of “mountain” — a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
not any; not one
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading IN THE OLD HUT.
someone who explores an area for mineral deposits
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It seemed that it had, beyond doubt, been erected by some prospector.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE OLD HUT.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Who had built it there?
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading In a valley amid the hills that lay at the base of the barren mountains stood an old hut.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What fate had befallen the builder no man knew.
which person or people
From this reading Who had built it there?
Chapter 5 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish holds 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 5 holds 226 sentences of Frank Merriwell's Backers, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 5 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 Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5574 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39433 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39433, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1115 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Frank Merriwell's Backers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Frank 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 Frank Merriwell's Backers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
