Chapter 15 of The X Bar X boys at the round-up is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The X Bar X boys at the round-up is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations. The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity. Then, in a low voice, Gus said: “Yes.” “Very well.
Chapter 15 of The X Bar X boys at the round-up is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
From this reading “The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.”
plural of “expectation” — belief about (or mental picture of) the future
From this reading “MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.”
plural of “gu” — the largest and southernmost island in the Marianas which is administered as a territory of the United States; it was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898
From this reading “MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.”
feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness
From this reading “The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.”
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
of an obscure nature
From this reading “MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.”
open and genuine; not deceitful
From this reading “The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.”
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 “Then, in a low voice, Gus said:”
In this reading “The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.”
In this reading “The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.”
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 MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
plural of “expectation” — belief about (or mental picture of) the future
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
plural of “gu” — the largest and southernmost island in the Marianas which is administered as a territory of the United States; it was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Then, in a low voice, Gus said:
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
of an obscure nature
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Then, in a low voice, Gus said:
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
open and genuine; not deceitful
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, in a low voice, Gus said:
in or at that place or location
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The brown face across the table was too much in earnest, too sincere, to allow for any levity.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
precisely as stated
From this reading “Very well.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Then, in a low voice, Gus said:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
(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 “Very well.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
during the time that
From this reading MYSTERIOUS DANGER There was a moment’s silence, while Gus essayed a grin which failed to live up to his expectations.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes.”
Chapter 15 of The X Bar X boys at the round-up by James Cody Ferris holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 179 sentences of The X Bar X boys at the round-up, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The X Bar X boys at the round-up by James Cody Ferris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 X Bar X boys at the round-up by James Cody Ferris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4545 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76660 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76660, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 378 minutes of reading across 909 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The X Bar X boys at the round-up section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The X Bar X boys at the round-up 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 X Bar X boys at the round-up, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
