Chapter 4 of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?" Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs. "Oh, everything's fine, Bud," responded Dick. "How about you, Nort?" "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
Chapter 4 of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
side by side
From this reading “Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.”
a partially opened flower
From this reading “Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.”
poke or thrust abruptly
From this reading “Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.”
a range horse of the western United States
From this reading “Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.”
a person who owns or operates a ranch
From this reading “"I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.”
a result
From this reading “"I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.”
plural of “rib” — support resembling the rib of an animal
From this reading “Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.”
United States electrical engineer who pioneered mathematical communication theory (1916-2001)
From this reading “Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.”
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'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.”
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 NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "How about you, Nort?"
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
side by side
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
a youthful male person
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
a partially opened flower
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
someone who is a detective
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, everything's fine, Bud," responded Dick.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading "Oh, everything's fine, Bud," responded Dick.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
attach to a support
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How about you, Nort?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, everything's fine, Bud," responded Dick.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
poke or thrust abruptly
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
a range horse of the western United States
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
a person who owns or operates a ranch
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "Oh, everything's fine, Bud," responded Dick.
a result
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
plural of “rib” — support resembling the rib of an animal
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
United States electrical engineer who pioneered mathematical communication theory (1916-2001)
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading A NIGHT ALARM "Well, Dick, how they coming?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How about you, Nort?"
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gave young Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
Chapter 4 of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley by Willard F. Baker holds 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 4 holds 107 sentences of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley by Willard F. Baker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 4 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 Ranchers in Death Valley by Willard F. Baker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3202 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27097 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27097, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 266 minutes of reading across 641 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley 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 Ranchers in Death Valley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
