Chapter 17 of Out for Business is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Out for Business is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION. "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again. "No luck at all," answered Robert. "That's bad." "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
Chapter 17 of Out for Business is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “"That's bad."”
yet to be or coming
From this reading “"One man said he might have an opening in the near future."”
American Revolutionary leader who served in the Continental Congress and as minister to France (1746-1813)
From this reading “"Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “"Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.”
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading “ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.”
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading “"One man said he might have an opening in the near future."”
United States golfer (born in 1929)
From this reading “"Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.”
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading “ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.”
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 “"One man said he might have an opening in the near future."”
In this reading “"Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.”
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 ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.
anew
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
(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 "No luck at all," answered Robert.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "No luck at all," answered Robert.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "No luck at all," answered Robert.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "That's bad."
yet to be or coming
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.
American Revolutionary leader who served in the Continental Congress and as minister to France (1746-1813)
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
not any; not one
From this reading "No luck at all," answered Robert.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
United States golfer (born in 1929)
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading ROBERT IS GIVEN A MISSION.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's bad."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "One man said he might have an opening in the near future."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
at the time that
From this reading "Well, what luck?" asked Livingston Palmer, when he and Robert met again.
Chapter 17 of Out for Business by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 104 sentences of Out for Business, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Out for Business by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 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.
