Chapter 24 of On Our Selection is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of On Our Selection is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap. One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn. Dad ordered him off. The man offered to fight Dad for the barn. Dad ran in and got the gun.
Chapter 24 of On Our Selection is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading “One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.”
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
From this reading “One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.”
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading “The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “Dad ordered him off.”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading “Dad ran in and got the gun.”
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading “The man offered to fight Dad for the barn.”
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading “Dad ordered him off.”
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading “One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.”
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 One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap.
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Dad ordered him off.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading The man offered to fight Dad for the barn.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The man offered to fight Dad for the barn.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Dad ran in and got the gun.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Dad ran in and got the gun.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dad ordered him off.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Dad ordered him off.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading The man offered to fight Dad for the barn.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading Dad ordered him off.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Dad ran in and got the gun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
valuable goods
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading One evening a raggedly-dressed man, with a swag on his back, a bear-skin cap on his head, and a sheath-knife in his belt, came to our place and took possession of the barn.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The Man with the Bear-Skin Cap.
Chapter 24 of On Our Selection by Steele Rudd holds 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 24 holds 78 sentences of On Our Selection, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of On Our Selection by Steele Rudd exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 24 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 3170 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3677 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3677, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 264 minutes of reading across 634 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through On Our Selection section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of On Our Selection 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 On Our Selection, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
