Chapter 1 of The Boy Traders is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Boy Traders is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS. AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC. HENRY T. COATES & CO. CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO. “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
Chapter 1 of The Boy Traders is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
plural of “boer” — a white native of Cape Province who is a descendant of Dutch settlers and who speaks Afrikaans
From this reading “_FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.”
English author; Charles Dodgson was an Oxford don of mathematics who is remembered for the children's stories he wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
From this reading “CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO.”
a city in southern Ohio on the Ohio river
From this reading “CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO.”
third-person singular of “coat” — put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface
From this reading “HENRY T. COATES & CO.”
a small shallow-draft boat carrying mounted guns; used by costal patrols
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.”
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading “_FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.”
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.”
plural of “trader” — someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold
From this reading “_FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.”
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.
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.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.
plural of “boer” — a white native of Cape Province who is a descendant of Dutch settlers and who speaks Afrikaans
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
a youthful male person
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
English author; Charles Dodgson was an Oxford don of mathematics who is remembered for the children's stories he wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
From this reading CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO.
a city in southern Ohio on the Ohio river
From this reading CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO.
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading HENRY T. COATES & CO.
third-person singular of “coat” — put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface
From this reading HENRY T. COATES & CO.
someone who is a detective
From this reading “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
a small shallow-draft boat carrying mounted guns; used by costal patrols
From this reading AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading HENRY T. COATES & CO.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO.
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” ETC.
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading HENRY T. COATES & CO.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
plural of “trader” — someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold
From this reading _FRANK NELSON SERIES._ THE BOY TRADERS; OR, THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE BOERS.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading CINCINNATI: R. W. CARROLL & CO.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Now, Uncle Dick, what is the matter?”
Chapter 1 of The Boy Traders by Harry Castlemon holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 122 sentences of The Boy Traders, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Boy Traders by Harry Castlemon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 Traders by Harry Castlemon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3095 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56868 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56868, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 257 minutes of reading across 619 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Traders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Boy Traders 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 Traders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
