Chapter 1 of Paid off is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Paid off is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc. “Bow-legged runt, eh? And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh? And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?” Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
Chapter 1 of Paid off is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game
From this reading “Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.”
informal terms for a meal
From this reading “Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.”
-ing form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading “Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.”
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading “Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.”
past form of “punctuate” — insert punctuation marks into
From this reading “Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.”
hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading “Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.”
a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung
From this reading “Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.”
the person who plays that position on a football team
From this reading “And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?””
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.
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 And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh?
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Bow-legged runt, eh?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
an emaciated horse likely soon to become carrion and so attractive to crows
From this reading And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh?
a tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Bow-legged runt, eh?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
informal terms for a meal
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
-ing form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh?
past form of “punctuate” — insert punctuation marks into
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
disparaging terms for small people
From this reading “Bow-legged runt, eh?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And my Skewball pony’s a crow-bait, eh?
hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
the person who plays that position on a football team
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of “The Grub Line,” “Deuce High,” etc.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I’m too —— small for a growed-up man tuh tackle, am I?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Each grunting, panting question was punctuated by a stinging slap.
Chapter 1 of Paid off by Walt Coburn holds 435 sentences, grouped into 87 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 1 holds 435 sentences of Paid off, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Paid off by Walt Coburn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 435 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 1 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 Paid off by Walt Coburn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Paid off section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Paid off 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 Paid off, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
