Chapter 16 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION. Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel. “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said. “I can afford to stand treat. Sit down, Mr. Brandon.
Chapter 16 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 134 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.
be able to spare or give up
From this reading ““I can afford to stand treat.”
a street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading “Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.”
past form of “conduct” — direct the course of; manage or control
From this reading “Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.”
being joined in close association
From this reading “Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.”
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading ““I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.”
the act of transacting within or between groups (as carrying on commercial activities)
From this reading “HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION.”
interact in a certain way
From this reading ““I can afford to stand treat.”
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.
take a seat
In this reading “Sit down, Mr. Brandon.”
In this reading “HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION.”
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 “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
be able to spare or give up
From this reading “I can afford to stand treat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
a street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “I can afford to stand treat.
past form of “conduct” — direct the course of; manage or control
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
being joined in close association
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Sit down, Mr. Brandon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I can afford to stand treat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Sit down, Mr. Brandon.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
be seated
From this reading Sit down, Mr. Brandon.
be standing; be upright
From this reading “I can afford to stand treat.
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I’ve done a good stroke of business this morning,” he said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
the act of transacting within or between groups (as carrying on commercial activities)
From this reading HARRY’S FIRST BUSINESS TRANSACTION.
interact in a certain way
From this reading “I can afford to stand treat.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Lemuel Fairchild conducted Brandon and Harry to Lovejoy’s Hotel on Broadway, and led the way to the restaurant connected with the hotel.
Chapter 16 of Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 134 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 16 holds 134 sentences of Sink or Swim, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 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 16 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 Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4592 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59517 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59517, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 382 minutes of reading across 919 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sink or Swim section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Sink or Swim 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 Sink or Swim, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
