Chapter 9 of Strong and Steady is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Strong and Steady is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW MR. DRUMMOND TOOK THE NEWS. Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized. As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit. This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
Chapter 9 of Strong and Steady is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
plural of “anticipation” — an expectation
From this reading “Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.”
a beef steak usually cooked by broiling
From this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda
From this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
cooked by frying in fat
From this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
a social unit living together
From this reading “This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.”
possessive form of “joshua” — (Old Testament) Moses' successor who led the Israelites into the Promised Land; best remembered for his destruction of Jericho
From this reading “Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.”
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
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 “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
In this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
In this reading “As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.”
In this reading “This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.”
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 Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
plural of “anticipation” — an expectation
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
a beef steak usually cooked by broiling
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DRUMMOND TOOK THE NEWS.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
cooked by frying in fat
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
a social unit living together
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW MR.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
possessive form of “joshua” — (Old Testament) Moses' successor who led the Israelites into the Promised Land; best remembered for his destruction of Jericho
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
a form of address for a man
From this reading HOW MR.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
information about recent and important events
From this reading DRUMMOND TOOK THE NEWS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
past form of “provide” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
cut with a saw
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DRUMMOND TOOK THE NEWS.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading DRUMMOND TOOK THE NEWS.
under normal conditions
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
precisely as stated
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Joshua's anticipations of a good breakfast were realized.
in or at the place that
From this reading As he entered the room where the table was set, he saw a dish of beefsteak, another of fried potatoes, and some hot biscuit.
in the company of; together with
From this reading This with coffee was very much better than the breakfast usually provided in the Drummond household.
Chapter 9 of Strong and Steady by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 9 holds 118 sentences of Strong and Steady, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Strong and Steady by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 9 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 Strong and Steady by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4443 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55098 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55098, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 370 minutes of reading across 889 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Strong and Steady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Strong and Steady 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 Strong and Steady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
