Chapter 18 of Helping Himself is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Helping Himself is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him. “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement. “About Mr. Ford?” repeated the broker. “What do you know about Willis Ford?” “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
Chapter 18 of Helping Himself is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading ““This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.”
a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission
From this reading ““About Mr. Ford?” repeated the broker.”
United States film maker (1896-1973)
From this reading ““This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.”
let have
From this reading “Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.”
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading ““I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.”
English portrait painter and first president of the Royal Academy (1723-1792)
From this reading “Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.”
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
From this reading “Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.”
English physician who was a pioneer in the study of the brain (1621-1675)
From this reading ““What do you know about Willis Ford?””
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
later than; following
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
a youthful male person
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission
From this reading “About Mr. Ford?” repeated the broker.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you know about Willis Ford?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
United States film maker (1896-1973)
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
let have
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “What do you know about Willis Ford?”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
on the contrary
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
recurring again and again
From this reading “About Mr. Ford?” repeated the broker.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “I don't know his name,” replied Johnny.
English portrait painter and first president of the Royal Academy (1723-1792)
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
express in words
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you know about Willis Ford?”
at the time that
From this reading Mr. Reynolds looked rather surprised when Grant appeared, drawing the telegraph boy after him.
English physician who was a pioneer in the study of the brain (1621-1675)
From this reading “What do you know about Willis Ford?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “This boy has got something to tell you about Mr. Ford,” said Grant, breathless with excitement.
Chapter 18 of Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 18 holds 134 sentences of Helping Himself, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 18 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 Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4051 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5833 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5833, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 337 minutes of reading across 811 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Helping Himself section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Helping Himself 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 Helping Himself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
