Chapter 2 of Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS. "Is the boss in?" The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him. "Have you business with Mr. Dalton?" he inquired. "I should think I had," said Sam.
Chapter 2 of Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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 feeling of delight at being entertained
From this reading “The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.”
someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers
From this reading “The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.”
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “"Is the boss in?"”
English chemist and physicist who formulated atomic theory and the law of partial pressures; gave the first description of red-green color blindness (1766-1844)
From this reading “The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.”
distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous
From this reading “The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.”
possessive form of “sam” — a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.”
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading “The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before 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 The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
a feeling of delight at being entertained
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading "Is the boss in?"
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
English chemist and physicist who formulated atomic theory and the law of partial pressures; gave the first description of red-green color blindness (1766-1844)
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I should think I had," said Sam.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Have you business with Mr. Dalton?" he inquired.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I should think I had," said Sam.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "Have you business with Mr. Dalton?" he inquired.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is the boss in?"
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Have you business with Mr. Dalton?" he inquired.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I should think I had," said Sam.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
possessive form of “sam” — a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading SAM'S FIRST DAY IN BUSINESS.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading "I should think I had," said Sam.
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Is the boss in?"
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I should think I had," said Sam.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Have you business with Mr. Dalton?" he inquired.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The speaker was Sam Barker, and the young man addressed was a clerk in the office of Henry Dalton & Co. He gazed with wonder and amusement at the grotesque figure before him.
Chapter 2 of Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 2 holds 157 sentences of Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 2 can be played aloud in United States English.
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About 324 minutes of reading across 778 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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