Chapter 32 of Helping Himself is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXII
Chapter 32 of Helping Himself is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Wake up, there.” The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes. By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him. “What is it?” he asked, drowsily. “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
Chapter 32 of Helping Himself is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading “By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.”
possessive form of “clock” — a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading ““The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.”
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading “The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.”
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading ““The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.”
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading ““Wake up, there.””
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading ““The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “What is it?” he asked, drowsily.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
a youthful male person
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
possessive form of “clock” — a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
in a drowsy manner
From this reading “What is it?” he asked, drowsily.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What is it?” he asked, drowsily.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “What is it?” he asked, drowsily.
and nothing more
From this reading “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
above and across; more than
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
cut with a saw
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The little boy stirred in his sleep, and finally opened his eyes.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Wake up, there.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “Wake up, there.”
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “Wake up, there.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What is it?” he asked, drowsily.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “The kitchen clock's just struck three,” whispered Abner.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading By the faint light that entered through the window, he saw Abner bending over him.
Chapter 32 of Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 74 sentences, grouped into 15 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 32 holds 74 sentences of Helping Himself, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 32 of Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 74 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 32 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.
