Chapter 17 of The Boy Allies in the Trenches is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Boy Allies in the Trenches is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A FIGHT FOR A BED. With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly. "Get up!" he shouted. His Lordship opened one eye sleepily. "What's that?" he demanded.
Chapter 17 of The Boy Allies in the Trenches is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “"What's that?" he demanded.”
of the present time and place
From this reading “With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.”
a title used to address any British peer except a duke and extended to a bishop or a judge
From this reading “With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.”
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
From this reading “With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.”
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading “With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “"Get up!" he shouted.”
in a sleepy manner
From this reading “His Lordship opened one eye sleepily.”
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 A FIGHT FOR A BED.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading A FIGHT FOR A BED.
placed crosswise
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "What's that?" he demanded.
the organ of sight
From this reading His Lordship opened one eye sleepily.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading A FIGHT FOR A BED.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A FIGHT FOR A BED.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Get up!" he shouted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Get up!" he shouted.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
of the present time and place
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
a title used to address any British peer except a duke and extended to a bishop or a judge
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading His Lordship opened one eye sleepily.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading His Lordship opened one eye sleepily.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading "Get up!" he shouted.
in a sleepy manner
From this reading His Lordship opened one eye sleepily.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "What's that?" he demanded.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Get up!" he shouted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's that?" he demanded.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading With a word to the sergeant to order an immediate retreat, Hal crossed the room and shook His Lordship roughly.
Chapter 17 of The Boy Allies in the Trenches by Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 17 holds 130 sentences of The Boy Allies in the Trenches, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Boy Allies in the Trenches by Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Boy Allies in the Trenches by Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3780 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12571 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12571, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 315 minutes of reading across 756 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Allies in the Trenches section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Boy Allies in the Trenches 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 Boy Allies in the Trenches, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
