Chapter 15 of The Train Boy is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Train Boy is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN UNWELCOME APPEARANCE. "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room. "Good-evening, Stephen," said Mrs. Palmer, soberly. Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him. "Where's sister Grace?" he inquired.
Chapter 15 of The Train Boy is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 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.
plural of “direction” — a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “"Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.”
United States golfer (born in 1929)
From this reading “"Good-evening, Stephen," said Mrs. Palmer, soberly.”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “"Good-evening, Stephen," said Mrs. Palmer, soberly.”
English writer (1832-1904)
From this reading “"Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.”
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading “"Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.”
a just detectable amount
From this reading “Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.”
not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure
From this reading “AN UNWELCOME APPEARANCE.”
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.
In this reading “"Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.”
In this reading “"Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.”
In this reading “Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.”
In this reading “Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.”
In this reading “Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.”
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.
in a flippant manner
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN UNWELCOME APPEARANCE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading AN UNWELCOME APPEARANCE.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
plural of “direction” — a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading "Where's sister Grace?" he inquired.
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "Where's sister Grace?" he inquired.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Good-evening, Stephen," said Mrs. Palmer, soberly.
not any; not one
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
above and across; more than
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
United States golfer (born in 1929)
From this reading "Good-evening, Stephen," said Mrs. Palmer, soberly.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading "Where's sister Grace?" he inquired.
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading "Good-evening, Stephen," said Mrs. Palmer, soberly.
English writer (1832-1904)
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading "Good-evening, mamma!" said Stephen, airily, as he stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
a just detectable amount
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure
From this reading AN UNWELCOME APPEARANCE.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Stephen glanced hastily in all directions in search of Paul, and was glad to find no trace of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Where's sister Grace?" he inquired.
Chapter 15 of The Train Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 15 holds 95 sentences of The Train Boy, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Train Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 15 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 Train Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4217 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55725 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55725, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 351 minutes of reading across 844 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Train Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Train Boy 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 Train Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
