Chapter 1 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I HEAR BAD NEWS. “Sam—come here!” It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual. I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons. It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
Chapter 1 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading “It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.”
possessive form of “day” — time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
plural of “lesson” — a unit of instruction
From this reading “I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.”
marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
From this reading “It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.”
-ing form of “pore” — direct one's attention on something
From this reading “I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.”
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.”
demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
From this reading “It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.”
on a floor above
From this reading “It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.”
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 “I HEAR BAD NEWS.”
In this reading ““Sam—come here!””
In this reading “I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading I HEAR BAD NEWS.
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Sam—come here!”
a small house with a single story
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
possessive form of “day” — time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I HEAR BAD NEWS.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Sam—come here!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I HEAR BAD NEWS.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
plural of “lesson” — a unit of instruction
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
information about recent and important events
From this reading I HEAR BAD NEWS.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
and nothing more
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
above and across; more than
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
-ing form of “pore” — direct one's attention on something
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “Sam—come here!”
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
on a floor above
From this reading It was in one end of the attic of our modest cottage, and the only room “done off” upstairs.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Mrs. Ranck’s voice, and sounded more bitter and stringent than usual.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I can easily recall the little room in which I sat, poring over my next day’s lessons.
Chapter 1 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 1 holds 158 sentences of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 1 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 Fortune Hunters in Alaska by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60055 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60055, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 201 minutes of reading across 483 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska 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 Fortune Hunters in Alaska, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
