Chapter 18 of Rick and Ruddy Out West is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Rick and Ruddy Out West is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside. “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?” “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back. “We don’t _have_ to do it if we don’t want to, Rick.” “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
Chapter 18 of Rick and Ruddy Out West is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
causing a dull and steady pain
From this reading ““Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.”
move gently or carefully
From this reading ““Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading ““Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?””
plural of “prisoner” — a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading ““Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?””
a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading “INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.”
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading ““Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.”
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.
straighten oneself
In this reading ““Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.”
In this reading “INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.”
In this reading ““Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?””
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 “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
causing a dull and steady pain
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
later than; following
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
united by being of the same opinion
From this reading “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
on or to one side
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “We don’t _have_ to do it if we don’t want to, Rick.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
move gently or carefully
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
activities that are enjoyable or amusing
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “We don’t _have_ to do it if we don’t want to, Rick.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “We don’t _have_ to do it if we don’t want to, Rick.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
a boy or man
From this reading “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
to a great degree or extent
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
plural of “prisoner” — a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “Oh, I don’t know,” slowly answered Chot, as he straightened up to ease his aching back.
precisely as stated
From this reading INTO THE DARK “Not very much fun—this,” commented Rick, as he and Chot tossed rock after rock aside.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “We don’t _have_ to do it if we don’t want to, Rick.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We don’t _have_ to do it if we don’t want to, Rick.”
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “Like prisoners working on a stone pile; isn’t it?”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, that’s so,” agreed the other lad.
Chapter 18 of Rick and Ruddy Out West by Howard Roger Garis holds 132 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 18 holds 132 sentences of Rick and Ruddy Out West, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Rick and Ruddy Out West by Howard Roger Garis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 132 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 18 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 Rick and Ruddy Out West by Howard Roger Garis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3091 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62093 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62093, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 257 minutes of reading across 619 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Rick and Ruddy Out West section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Rick and Ruddy Out West 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 Rick and Ruddy Out West, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
