Chapter 9 of Out for Business is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Out for Business is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT THE PALMER HOUSE. Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked. The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance. Their appearance made the charge a probable one. "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
Chapter 9 of Out for Business is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading “The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading “The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.”
in an imprudent manner
From this reading “Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.”
kept in good condition
From this reading “Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.”
United States golfer (born in 1929)
From this reading “AT THE PALMER HOUSE.”
likely but not certain to be or become true or real
From this reading “Their appearance made the charge a probable one.”
-ing form of “scrutinize” — to look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
From this reading “The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.”
destroyed in an accident
From this reading “Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.”
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 “The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.”
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 The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading Their appearance made the charge a probable one.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT THE PALMER HOUSE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
a youthful male person
From this reading "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading Their appearance made the charge a probable one.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading AT THE PALMER HOUSE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
in an imprudent manner
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
United States labor leader (born in Ireland) who helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World (1830-1930)
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Their appearance made the charge a probable one.
kept in good condition
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
the force of workers available
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Their appearance made the charge a probable one.
United States golfer (born in 1929)
From this reading AT THE PALMER HOUSE.
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
having a point
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
likely but not certain to be or become true or real
From this reading Their appearance made the charge a probable one.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
on the contrary
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
-ing form of “scrutinize” — to look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT THE PALMER HOUSE.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
create by training and teaching
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
which person or people
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The engineer and the group of passengers around him eyed the two men with a quick, scrutinizing glance.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
destroyed in an accident
From this reading Tommy Keegan pointed to Barlow and Jones, who rather imprudently had maintained their position, in the hope that the train would be wrecked.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How do you know, boy?" asked the engineer.
Chapter 9 of Out for Business by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 9 holds 135 sentences of Out for Business, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Out for Business by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 9 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 Out for Business by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4464 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54737 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54737, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 372 minutes of reading across 893 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Out for Business section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Out for Business 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 Out for Business, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
