Chapter 17 of Joe's Luck is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Joe's Luck is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement. He felt rather proud of his rapid progress. It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper. Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
Chapter 17 of Joe's Luck is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.”
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading “Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.”
the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan)
From this reading “It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.”
possessive form of “hogan” — United States golfer who won many major golf tournaments (1912-1997)
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.”
a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence
From this reading “It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.”
something proposed (such as a plan or assumption)
From this reading “HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.”
a professional card player who makes a living by cheating at card games
From this reading “It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.”
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 It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
a youthful male person
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan)
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
past form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.
everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
possessive form of “hogan” — United States golfer who won many major golf tournaments (1912-1997)
From this reading HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
gradual improvement or growth or development
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
something proposed (such as a plan or assumption)
From this reading HOGAN’S PROPOSAL Joe enjoyed Hogan’s amazement.
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
done or occurring in a brief period of time
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
on the contrary
From this reading He felt rather proud of his rapid progress.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
a professional card player who makes a living by cheating at card games
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now, on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and owner of real estate.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.
Chapter 17 of Joe's Luck by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 140 sentences of Joe's Luck, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Joe's Luck by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Joe's Luck by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4130 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12823 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12823, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 826 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Joe's Luck section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Joe's Luck 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 Joe's Luck, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
