Chapter 1 of Gunnison's Bonanza is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Gunnison's Bonanza is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
All his life he had been searching for the big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had come to Mars--his last chance. This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said. The pilot grinned.
Chapter 1 of Gunnison's Bonanza is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.”
high in price or charging high prices
From this reading “This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.”
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “But always he had failed.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “The pilot grinned.”
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading “Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.”
operate an airplane
From this reading “The pilot grinned.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “All his life he had been searching for the big strike.”
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
From this reading “All his life he had been searching for the big strike.”
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 “Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading But always he had failed.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But always he had failed.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
high in price or charging high prices
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading But always he had failed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading The pilot grinned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
immediately past
From this reading Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.
operate an airplane
From this reading The pilot grinned.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All his life he had been searching for the big strike.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This had to be-- "That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now he had come to Mars--his last chance.
Chapter 1 of Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell holds 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 1 holds 297 sentences of Gunnison's Bonanza, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 1 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 Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Gunnison's Bonanza section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Gunnison's Bonanza 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 Gunnison's Bonanza, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
