Chapter 17 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James. It was not a temptation to do wrong. That he could easily have resisted. I must explain.
Chapter 17 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
past form of “assail” — attack someone physically or emotionally
From this reading “During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.”
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading “THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.”
the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading “THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.”
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading “THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.”
past form of “resist” — elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading “That he could easily have resisted.”
something that seduces or has the quality to seduce
From this reading “During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.”
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.”
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 THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.
past form of “assail” — attack someone physically or emotionally
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.
the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading That he could easily have resisted.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading It was not a temptation to do wrong.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading That he could easily have resisted.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading I must explain.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading That he could easily have resisted.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That he could easily have resisted.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I must explain.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not a temptation to do wrong.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I must explain.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not a temptation to do wrong.
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.
past form of “resist” — elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading That he could easily have resisted.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
something that seduces or has the quality to seduce
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That he could easily have resisted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was not a temptation to do wrong.
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was not a temptation to do wrong.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading It was not a temptation to do wrong.
Chapter 17 of From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 95 sentences of From Canal Boy to President, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2945 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14964 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14964, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 589 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through From Canal Boy to President section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in From Canal Boy to President, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
