Chapter 18 of Rupert's Ambition is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Rupert's Ambition is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SCENE AT DELMONICO'S. The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows. Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him. He was curious to see that famous restaurant. He was destined to a surprise.
Chapter 18 of Rupert's Ambition is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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 street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading “The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “He was curious to see that famous restaurant.”
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading “He was destined to a surprise.”
widely known and esteemed
From this reading “He was curious to see that famous restaurant.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “He was curious to see that famous restaurant.”
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading “Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.”
an area that includes places where several people can sit
From this reading “The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.”
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading “The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.”
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 “Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.”
In this reading “The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.”
In this reading “Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.”
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 A SCENE AT DELMONICO'S.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
later than; following
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A SCENE AT DELMONICO'S.
a street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A SCENE AT DELMONICO'S.
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading He was destined to a surprise.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
widely known and esteemed
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
the act of giving
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading Rupert, after giving the order, looked about him.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading A SCENE AT DELMONICO'S.
an area that includes places where several people can sit
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading He was destined to a surprise.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was curious to see that famous restaurant.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading The two friends entered Delmonico's on the Broadway side, and took seats at one of the windows.
Chapter 18 of Rupert's Ambition by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 144 sentences of Rupert's Ambition, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Rupert's Ambition by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 Rupert's Ambition by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5178 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54621 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54621, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 431 minutes of reading across 1036 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Rupert's Ambition section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Rupert's Ambition 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 Rupert's Ambition, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
