Chapter 6 of The Young Explorer is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Young Explorer is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BEN'S DINNER-GUEST. Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper. "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?" "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them." "Did you take the place?"
Chapter 6 of The Young Explorer is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “BEN'S DINNER-GUEST.”
possessive form of “ben” — a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “BEN'S DINNER-GUEST.”
United States industrialist who built the first American locomotive; founded Cooper Union in New York City to offer free courses in the arts and sciences (1791-1883)
From this reading “Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.”
dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened
From this reading “"Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"”
past form of “retrace” — to go back over again
From this reading “Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “"Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.”
male cat
From this reading “Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
possessive form of “ben” — a mountain or tall hill
From this reading BEN'S DINNER-GUEST.
a person who polishes shoes and boots
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
United States industrialist who built the first American locomotive; founded Cooper Union in New York City to offer free courses in the arts and sciences (1791-1883)
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BEN'S DINNER-GUEST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Did you take the place?"
past form of “retrace” — to go back over again
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
cut with a saw
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
carry out
From this reading "Did you take the place?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
male cat
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
(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," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
in or at the place that
From this reading Ben slowly retraced his steps to where he had left his friend, Tom Cooper.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes," answered Ben soberly; "that is, I saw one of them."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well," said the bootblack, "did you see Fitch and Ferguson?"
Chapter 6 of The Young Explorer by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 6 holds 138 sentences of The Young Explorer, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Young Explorer by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 6 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 Young Explorer by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3359 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5623 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5623, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 279 minutes of reading across 672 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Young Explorer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Young Explorer 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 Young Explorer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
