Chapter 1 of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him. Well, that couldn't be helped now. He turned his back and gave his attention to the game. But the incident was not yet closed. Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
Chapter 1 of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 77/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 381–385
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.
making or willing to make concessions
From this reading “Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Well, that couldn't be helped now.”
a single distinct event
From this reading “But the incident was not yet closed.”
tender, romantic, or nostalgic feeling or emotion
From this reading “But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.”
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading “Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:”
a large gathering of people
From this reading “But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.”
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:”
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 But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Well, that couldn't be helped now.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading But the incident was not yet closed.
making or willing to make concessions
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, that couldn't be helped now.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Well, that couldn't be helped now.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
a single distinct event
From this reading But the incident was not yet closed.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But the incident was not yet closed.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Well, that couldn't be helped now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
above and across; more than
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
tender, romantic, or nostalgic feeling or emotion
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
a large gathering of people
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned his back and gave his attention to the game.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But a glance over the faces of the little throng showed that public sentiment was against him.
(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 Well, that couldn't be helped now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Whipple's smooth voice sounded in its most conciliatory tones:
but in spite of that
From this reading But the incident was not yet closed.
Chapter 1 of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3859 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6487 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6487, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories 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 New Boy at Hilltop, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
