Chapter XVII of Making His Mark, “Gerald Leaves Portville,” is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVII of Making His Mark, “Gerald Leaves Portville,” is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen. "I want to speak to you, Gerald," said Richard. "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store. I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment." "No, Dick.
Chapter XVII of Making His Mark, “Gerald Leaves Portville,” is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
consider or hold as true
From this reading “I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."”
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading “ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.”
-ing form of “deprive” — take away possessions from someone
From this reading “I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."”
the state of being employed or having a job
From this reading “I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."”
possessing qualities befitting a man
From this reading “ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.”
being one more than fifteen
From this reading “ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “"Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.”
dependable
From this reading “ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.”
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 “ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.”
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 ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
consider or hold as true
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
a youthful male person
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
-ing form of “deprive” — take away possessions from someone
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
someone who is a detective
From this reading "No, Dick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
the state of being employed or having a job
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I want to speak to you, Gerald," said Richard.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
possessing qualities befitting a man
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, Dick.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I want to speak to you, Gerald," said Richard.
being one more than fifteen
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
express in speech
From this reading "I want to speak to you, Gerald," said Richard.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
dependable
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
up to a particular time
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mr. Tubbs has offered me a place in his store.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "I want to speak to you, Gerald," said Richard.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading I don't want to accept it till I learn whether I am depriving you of employment."
in the company of; together with
From this reading ON his way to church the next day Gerald fell in with Richard Childs, a stout, manly boy of sixteen.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I want to speak to you, Gerald," said Richard.
Chapter 17 of Making His Mark by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 145 sentences of Making His Mark, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Making His Mark by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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.
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Yes. All 4739 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55217, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 394 minutes of reading across 948 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Making His Mark section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Making His Mark 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 Making His Mark, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
