Chapter 4 of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?" "Yes, sir." "What for?" "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board." "What were you to do on board?"
Chapter 4 of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
transport commercially
From this reading “"I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."”
be standing; be upright
From this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
trying something to find out about it
From this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
someone who leads a wandering unsettled life
From this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “"I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."”
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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
In this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
to exert effort in order to do, make, or perform something
In this reading “"I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."”
have smooth relations
In this reading “THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"”
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.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What were you to do on board?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "What for?"
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
transport commercially
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
term of address for a man
From this reading "Yes, sir."
be standing; be upright
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
trying something to find out about it
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
someone who leads a wandering unsettled life
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What for?"
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "I have told you we were to ship on her--we were to work on board."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, sir."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE BOYS STAND THE TEST "YOU want to get on board the 'Wanderer,' eh?"
Chapter 4 of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats by James R. Mears holds 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 204 sentences of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats by James R. Mears exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Iron Boys on the Ore Boats by James R. Mears on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3982 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40067 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40067, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 797 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats 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 Iron Boys on the Ore Boats, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
