Jean of Greenacres

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester • Curated US English Learning Edition

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BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

Jean looked around eagerly as she jumped to the platform, wondering which of the family would drive down to meet them, but instead of Kit or Shad, Ralph McRae stepped up to her with outstretched hand.

All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

As Kit had said then, in describing him:

“He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

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Chapter XVII Reading 1/36

Jean of Greenacres Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived. Jean looked around eagerly as she jumped to the platform, wondering which of the family would drive down to meet them, but instead of Kit or Shad, Ralph McRae stepped up to her with outstretched hand. All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before. As Kit had said then, in describing him: “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

Jean of Greenacres

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/36 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

Line 2

Line 3

All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

/ɔːl ðə weɪ frʌm ˈsæskətuːn ʃiː θɔːt ənd dʒʌst ðə seɪm æz hiː wɑːz ə jɪr bɪˈfɔːr/

Line 4

As Kit had said then, in describing him:

/æz kɪt hæd sed ðen ɪn dɪˈskraɪbɪŋ hɪm/

Line 5

“He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

Learner Dictionary

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.

describing verb US /dɪˈskraɪbɪŋ/

-ing form of “describe” — give a description of

From this reading “As Kit had said then, in describing him:”

Easter noun US /ˈiːstər/

a Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox

From this reading “BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.”

hero's noun US /ˈhɪroʊz/

possessive form of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength

Kit noun US /kɪt/

a case for containing a set of articles

From this reading “Jean looked around eagerly as she jumped to the platform, wondering which of the family would drive down to meet them, but instead of Kit or Shad, Ralph McRae stepped up to her with outstretched hand.”

outstretched adjective US /aʊtˈstretʃt/

fully extended especially in length

Romeo noun US /ˈroʊmioʊ/

an ardent male lover

From this reading ““He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.”

Saskatoon noun US /ˈsæskətuːn/

a city in central Saskatchewan; the largest city in the province

From this reading “All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.”

Shad noun US /ʃæd/

bony flesh of herring-like fish usually caught during their migration to fresh water for spawning; especially of Atlantic coast

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

outstretched hand adjective + noun

In this reading “Jean looked around eagerly as she jumped to the platform, wondering which of the family would drive down to meet them, but instead of Kit or Shad, Ralph McRae stepped up to her with outstretched hand.”

looked around verb + particle counted as “look around”

look about oneself

FIGHTING CHANCE noun + noun

In this reading “BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.”

best friend noun + noun

the one friend who is closest to you

In this reading ““He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.”

All words in this reading · 76

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

AlladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

alwaysadverbUS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

at all times; all the time and on every occasion

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading Jean looked around eagerly as she jumped to the platform, wondering which of the family would drive down to meet them, but instead of Kit or Shad, Ralph McRae stepped up to her with outstretched hand.

arrivedverbUS /ərˈaɪvd/

past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

Benvolio

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

bestnounUS /best/

the supreme effort one can make

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

BILLIE'S

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

CHANCEnounUS /tʃæns/

a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

describingverbUS /dɪˈskraɪbɪŋ/

-ing form of “describe” — give a description of

From this reading As Kit had said then, in describing him:

doesn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

driveverbUS /draɪv/

operate or control a vehicle

eagerlyadverbUS /ˈiːɡərli/

with eagerness; in an eager manner

EasternounUS /ˈiːstər/

a Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

familynounUS /ˈfæməli/

a social unit living together

FIGHTINGnounUS /ˈfaɪtɪŋ/

the act of fighting; any contest or struggle

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

FridaynounUS /ˈfraɪdi/

the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

friendnounUS /frend/

a person you know well and regard with affection and trust

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

Gratiano

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading As Kit had said then, in describing him:

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

he'd

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

heronounUS /ˈhɪroʊ/

a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

hero'snounUS /ˈhɪroʊz/

possessive form of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading As Kit had said then, in describing him:

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading As Kit had said then, in describing him:

insteadadverbUS /ˌɪnˈsted/

in place of, or as an alternative to

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

JeannounUS /dʒiːn/

a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric

jumpedverbUS /dʒʌmpt/

past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds

justadverbUS /dʒʌst/

and nothing more

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

KitnounUS /kɪt/

a case for containing a set of articles

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

lookedverbUS /lʊkt/

past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

McRae

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

meetverbUS /miːt/

come together

Mercutio

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

outstretchedadjectiveUS /aʊtˈstretʃt/

fully extended especially in length

platformnounUS /ˈplætfɔːrm/

a raised horizontal surface

Ralph

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

RomeonounUS /ˈroʊmioʊ/

an ardent male lover

From this reading “He doesn’t look as if he could be the hero, but he’d always be the hero’s best friend, like Mercutio was to Romeo, or Gratiano to Benvolio.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading As Kit had said then, in describing him:

sameadjectiveUS /seɪm/

Identical; not different.

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

SaskatoonnounUS /ˈsæskətuːn/

a city in central Saskatchewan; the largest city in the province

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

ShadnounUS /ʃæd/

bony flesh of herring-like fish usually caught during their migration to fresh water for spawning; especially of Atlantic coast

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

steppedverbUS /stept/

inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading As Kit had said then, in describing him:

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

waynounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading BILLIE’S FIGHTING CHANCE It was the Friday before Easter when they arrived.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

wonderingadjectiveUS /ˈwʌndərɪŋ/

showing curiosity

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

yearnounUS /jɪr/

a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days

From this reading All the way from Saskatoon, she thought, and just the same as he was a year before.

Chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres by Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester holds 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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.

What does chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres contain?

Chapter 17 holds 182 sentences of Jean of Greenacres, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres by Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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.

How do I study chapter 17 of Jean of Greenacres?

Work through the 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 37 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.

Can chapter 17 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Jean of Greenacres

Common questions about reading Jean of Greenacres by Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Jean of Greenacres?

Yes. All 3829 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60526 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Jean of Greenacres is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #60526, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Jean of Greenacres take to read?

About 319 minutes of reading across 766 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Jean of Greenacres section by section

How to work through Jean of Greenacres section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

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Vocabulary met early in Jean of Greenacres

Words and structures a reader meets early in Jean of Greenacres, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Greenacres: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jean of Greenacres; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Izola: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jean of Greenacres; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Forrester: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jean of Greenacres; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
World: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jean of Greenacres; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XVII

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Vocabulary met early in Jean of Greenacres