Chapter 27 of The Auction Block is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Auction Block is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say: "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead." "Dead?" Bob cried, in a startled voice. "Dead!
Chapter 27 of The Auction Block is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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 “Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:”
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading “"Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."”
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading “"Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “"Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “"Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “Bob cried, in a startled voice.”
past form of “telephone” — get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
From this reading “Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:”
United States novelist (1862-1937)
From this reading “Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:”
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 "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Bob cried, in a startled voice.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Bob cried, in a startled voice.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
and nothing more
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
express in words
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Bob cried, in a startled voice.
past form of “telephone” — get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Bob cried, in a startled voice.
United States novelist (1862-1937)
From this reading Late that night John Merkle telephoned Bob Wharton to say:
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading "Headquarters just rang me up and told me--prepare yourself for a shock--Lilas Lynn is dead."
Chapter 27 of The Auction Block by Rex Beach holds 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 27 holds 254 sentences of The Auction Block, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Auction Block by Rex Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 27 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.
