Chapter 21 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR. The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea. "Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily. The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
Chapter 21 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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 city in northern Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth
From this reading “ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR.”
inflected form of “compel” — force somebody to do something
From this reading “The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.”
English film actress who later became a member of British Parliament (born in 1936)
From this reading “"Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.”
a piece of cutlery with a shallow bowl-shaped container and a handle; used to stir or serve or take up food
From this reading “The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.”
a white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative
From this reading “"Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.”
any of various devices for taking hold of objects; usually have two hinged legs with handles above and pointed hooks below
From this reading “The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.”
someone who visits
From this reading “ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR.”
in a weary manner
From this reading “"Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.”
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 “The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.”
In this reading “The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.”
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 ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a city in northern Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth
From this reading ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
inflected form of “compel” — force somebody to do something
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
a female human offspring
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR.
English film actress who later became a member of British Parliament (born in 1936)
From this reading "Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.
held up in the air
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a female domestic
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
not any; not one
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
above and across; more than
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a piece of cutlery with a shallow bowl-shaped container and a handle; used to stir or serve or take up food
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative
From this reading "Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
any of various devices for taking hold of objects; usually have two hinged legs with handles above and pointed hooks below
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
the act of using
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
someone who visits
From this reading ARLINGTON HAS A VISITOR.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The maid lifted the sugar-bowl, but, finding no tongs, was compelled to use a spoon.
in a weary manner
From this reading "Sugar, Jackson," said the lady wearily.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The black maid stood over the little table at which mother and daughter sat taking tea.
Chapter 21 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 186 sentences of Frank Merriwell's Backers, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 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.
