Chapter 17 of The Auction Block is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Auction Block is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Whew! That was a knockout. But who got licked?" Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink. "Did he mean it?"
Chapter 17 of The Auction Block is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.”
take in liquids
From this reading “Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “But who got licked?"”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.”
a very attractive or seductive looking woman
From this reading “That was a knockout.”
having been got the better of
From this reading “But who got licked?"”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “"Did he mean it?"”
not moving or operating freely
From this reading “Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.”
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 That was a knockout.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But who got licked?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Did he mean it?"
take in liquids
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading But who got licked?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Did he mean it?"
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Did he mean it?"
a very attractive or seductive looking woman
From this reading That was a knockout.
having been got the better of
From this reading But who got licked?"
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "Did he mean it?"
a removable board fitted on the side of a wagon to increase its capacity
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
not moving or operating freely
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was a knockout.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was a knockout.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Bob went to the little sideboard and helped himself to a stiff drink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Whew!
which person or people
From this reading But who got licked?"
Chapter 17 of The Auction Block by Rex Beach holds 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 17 holds 326 sentences of The Auction Block, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Auction Block by Rex Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 17 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 The Auction Block by Rex Beach on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8096 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5143 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5143, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1620 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Auction Block section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Auction Block 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 The Auction Block, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
