Chapter 17 of The Fighting Scrub is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Fighting Scrub is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?” “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling. “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?” “Yes, sir. I meant, does he have to ask himself?”
Chapter 17 of The Fighting Scrub is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
the act of compelling by force of authority
From this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “I meant, does he have to ask himself?””
absolutely essential
From this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
approval to do something
From this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading ““How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.”
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
plural of “wattle” — a fleshy wrinkled and often brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat of certain birds (chickens and turkeys) or lizards
From this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
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.
increase the likelihood of
In this reading “WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?””
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.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
the act of compelling by force of authority
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I meant, does he have to ask himself?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I meant, does he have to ask himself?”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading I meant, does he have to ask himself?”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.
absolutely essential
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
approval to do something
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
term of address for a man
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “How’s that?” asked Mr. McKnight, smiling.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
male cat
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
plural of “wattle” — a fleshy wrinkled and often brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat of certain birds (chickens and turkeys) or lizards
From this reading WATTLES USES COERCION “Is it necessary, sir, for Tom Kemble to ask for permission to cut study hour himself?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If Kemble cut study hour he would have to do it himself, wouldn’t he Bingham?”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, sir.
Chapter 17 of The Fighting Scrub by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 216 sentences of The Fighting Scrub, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Fighting Scrub by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Fighting Scrub by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4605 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73435 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73435, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 383 minutes of reading across 921 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fighting Scrub section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Fighting Scrub 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 Fighting Scrub, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
