Chapter 11 of Strictly Business is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Strictly Business is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You are one of us, of course. Fine lot of men the West sends in this time. I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before. My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.” Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
Chapter 11 of Strictly Business is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
comparative of “bold” — fearless and daring
From this reading “My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.””
a large formal assembly
From this reading “I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.”
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading “Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.”
valuable tough heavy hardwood from various hickory trees
From this reading “My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.””
a midwestern state in central United States; a border state during the American Civil War, Missouri was admitted to the Confederacy without actually seceding from the Union
From this reading “My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.””
possessive form of “name” — a language unit by which a person or thing is known
third-person singular of “send” — cause to go somewhere
From this reading “Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.”
without preparation; not prepared for
From this reading “Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to 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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You are one of us, of course.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
comparative of “bold” — fearless and daring
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
a large formal assembly
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “You are one of us, of course.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
a small growth of trees without underbrush
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
valuable tough heavy hardwood from various hickory trees
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
the force of workers available
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
a midwestern state in central United States; a border state during the American Civil War, Missouri was admitted to the Confederacy without actually seceding from the Union
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
possessive form of “name” — a language unit by which a person or thing is known
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “You are one of us, of course.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “You are one of us, of course.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
third-person singular of “send” — cause to go somewhere
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
a male human offspring
From this reading My name’s R. P. Bolder—Bolder & Son, of Hickory Grove, Missouri.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
without preparation; not prepared for
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You are one of us, of course.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading Fine lot of men the West sends in this time.
at the time that
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Though unprepared, I rose to the emergency, as men will when put to it.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading I’m glad they held the convention in New York; I’ve never been East before.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You are one of us, of course.
Chapter 11 of Strictly Business by O. Henry holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 11 holds 197 sentences of Strictly Business, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Strictly Business by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 11 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 Strictly Business by O. Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4844 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2141 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2141, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 403 minutes of reading across 969 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Strictly Business section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Strictly Business 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 Strictly Business, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
