Chapter 13 of The pit is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The pit is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura. "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam. But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust. Heigho, I sure am tired. It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
Chapter 13 of The pit is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading “"Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.”
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading “"Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.”
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading “But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.”
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading “But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.”
take the midday meal
From this reading “"Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “"Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.”
fine particles of wood made by sawing wood
From this reading “But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.”
requiring a standing position
From this reading “"Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.”
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 "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Heigho, I sure am tired.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
the two together, not just one
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading "Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading "Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Heigho, I sure am tired.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
ten 10s
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.
take the midday meal
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
engage in
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
a form of address for a man
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
fine particles of wood made by sawing wood
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
in or at or to some place
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
requiring a standing position
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Heigho, I sure am tired.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading Heigho, I sure am tired.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It takes it out of you, Mr. Corthell, to make five hundred thousand in about ten hours."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
(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 But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But we were both so excited we might as well have eaten sawdust.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Oh, I had a stand-up lunch somewhere with Sam.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Haven't you dined, Curtis?" cried Laura.
Chapter 13 of The pit by Frank Norris holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 13 holds 414 sentences of The pit, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The pit by Frank Norris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 13 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 pit by Frank Norris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4382 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4382, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The pit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The pit 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 pit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
