Chapter 7 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window. Then he gurgled. "By the Brass-eyed bull!" he exclaimed. "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow. That's all, old man--just a look!"
Chapter 7 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading “"By the Brass-eyed bull!" he exclaimed.”
(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin
From this reading “THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.”
put or send forth
From this reading “"Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.”
plural of “cripple” — someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back
From this reading “THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.”
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “"Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.”
a boy or man
From this reading “"Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.”
a small worthless amount
From this reading “THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.”
of or relating to or resembling the eye
From this reading “"Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.”
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 “"Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.”
be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful
In this reading “THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.”
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's all, old man--just a look!"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading That's all, old man--just a look!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "By the Brass-eyed bull!" he exclaimed.
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading "By the Brass-eyed bull!" he exclaimed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "By the Brass-eyed bull!" he exclaimed.
(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
put or send forth
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
plural of “cripple” — someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "By the Brass-eyed bull!" he exclaimed.
a boy or man
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he gurgled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he gurgled.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
a small worthless amount
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
and nothing more
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading That's all, old man--just a look!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
of or relating to or resembling the eye
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's all, old man--just a look!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he gurgled.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading THE CALAMITOUS CRIPPLES Jack looked out of the window.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Look here, just cast your optic in this direction, old fellow.
Chapter 7 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys by Andrew H. Walpole holds 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 7 holds 189 sentences of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys by Andrew H. Walpole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 7 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 Black Star: A School Story for Boys by Andrew H. Walpole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Star: A School Story for Boys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Black Star: A School Story for Boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
