Chapter 1 of The Tin Box, and What it Contained is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Tin Box, and What it Contained is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Horatio Alger, Jr. “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it. “Yes, mother. I don’t want to be late for the store. Saturday is always a busy day.”
Chapter 1 of The Tin Box, and What it Contained is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
United States author of inspirational adventure stories for boys; virtue and hard work overcome poverty (1832-1899)
From this reading “By Horatio Alger, Jr.”
past form of “appropriate” — give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
From this reading ““Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.”
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “Saturday is always a busy day.””
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading ““Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.”
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading ““Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.”
attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading ““Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.”
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading “Saturday is always a busy day.””
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “I don’t want to be late for the store.”
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 “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
United States author of inspirational adventure stories for boys; virtue and hard work overcome poverty (1832-1899)
From this reading By Horatio Alger, Jr.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Saturday is always a busy day.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
past form of “appropriate” — give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I don’t want to be late for the store.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Saturday is always a busy day.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Horatio Alger, Jr.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Saturday is always a busy day.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t want to be late for the store.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Horatio Alger, Jr.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I don’t want to be late for the store.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Saturday is always a busy day.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading By Horatio Alger, Jr.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading I don’t want to be late for the store.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Yes, mother.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Saturday is always a busy day.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading I don’t want to be late for the store.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I don’t want to be late for the store.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, mother.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, as Harry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hung on a nail especially appropriated to it.
Chapter 1 of The Tin Box, and What it Contained by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 96 sentences of The Tin Box, and What it Contained, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Tin Box, and What it Contained by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 Tin Box, and What it Contained by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4225 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27222 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27222, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 352 minutes of reading across 845 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tin Box, and What it Contained section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Tin Box, and What it Contained 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 Tin Box, and What it Contained, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
