Chapter 27 of Rupert's Ambition is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Rupert's Ambition is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN INGENIOUS TRICK. One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk. "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said. "Very well," said the clerk. "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
Chapter 27 of Rupert's Ambition is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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 collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading “One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.”
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.”
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.”
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading “AN INGENIOUS TRICK.”
a heavy coat worn over clothes in winter
From this reading “"It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.”
cause to go somewhere
From this reading “"You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."”
a county in southwestern England on the Bristol Channel
From this reading “One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.”
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “AN INGENIOUS TRICK.”
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 One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN INGENIOUS TRICK.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
a youthful male person
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading AN INGENIOUS TRICK.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
go away from a place
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
a heavy coat worn over clothes in winter
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It is an overcoat for Mr. Silas Drayton," he said.
a county in southwestern England on the Bristol Channel
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading AN INGENIOUS TRICK.
precisely as stated
From this reading "Very well," said the clerk.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
(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 "Very well," said the clerk.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
in the company of; together with
From this reading One morning a tailor's boy entered the Somerset Hotel with a bundle which he carried to the clerk.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You can leave it, and we will send it to his room."
Chapter 27 of Rupert's Ambition by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 27 holds 83 sentences of Rupert's Ambition, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Rupert's Ambition by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 27 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.
