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The Young Salesman
The Young Salesman

Chapter XXVII

Chapter 27 of The Young Salesman is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Young Salesman
Context Illustration Reading 1/26 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
RED RALPH.
The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.
His face was far from prepossessing.
He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.
"So you have company?" he said.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Young Salesman

Chapter XXVII

Chapter 27 of The Young Salesman is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/26 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
RED RALPH.
Line 2
The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.
Line 3
His face was far from prepossessing.
Line 4
He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.
Line 5
"So you have company?" he said.
/soʊ juː hæv ˈkʌmpəniː hiː sed/

Learner Dictionary

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.

beard noun US /bɪrd/

the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face

From this reading “The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.”

company noun US /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

From this reading “"So you have company?" he said.”

entered verb US /ˈentərd/

past form of “enter” — to come or go into

From this reading “The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.”

hair noun US /her/

a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss

From this reading “The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.”

height noun US /haɪt/

the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top

From this reading “The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.”

medium noun US /ˈmiːdiəm/

a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information

From this reading “The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.”

red noun US /red/

red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood

From this reading “RED RALPH.”

visitors noun US /ˈvɪzɪtərz/

plural of “visitor” — someone who visits

From this reading “He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

medium height noun + noun

In this reading “The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.”

looked at verb + particle counted as “look at”

take into consideration for exemplifying purposes

In this reading “He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.”

All words in this reading · 32

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.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

beardnounUS /bɪrd/

the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

companynounUS /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

From this reading "So you have company?" he said.

enteredverbUS /ˈentərd/

past form of “enter” — to come or go into

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

facenounUS /feɪs/

the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

From this reading His face was far from prepossessing.

faradverbUS /fɑːr/

to a considerable degree; very much

From this reading His face was far from prepossessing.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading His face was far from prepossessing.

hairnounUS /her/

a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "So you have company?" he said.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

heightnounUS /haɪt/

the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

inquiringlyadverb

in an inquiring manner

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

lookedverbUS /lʊkt/

past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

mediumnounUS /ˈmiːdiəm/

a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

prepossessingadjective

creating a favorable impression

From this reading His face was far from prepossessing.

RALPH

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading RED RALPH.

REDnounUS /red/

red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood

From this reading RED RALPH.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "So you have company?" he said.

SoconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading "So you have company?" he said.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

thicksetadjective

having a short and solid form or stature

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

visitorsnounUS /ˈvɪzɪtərz/

plural of “visitor” — someone who visits

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading The man who entered was of medium height, thickset, and his hair and beard were red.

wifenounUS /waɪf/

a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

From this reading He looked at the visitors, and then at his wife inquiringly.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "So you have company?" he said.

Chapter 27 of The Young Salesman by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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.

What does chapter 27 of The Young Salesman contain?

Chapter 27 holds 131 sentences of The Young Salesman, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 27 of The Young Salesman by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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.

How do I study chapter 27 of The Young Salesman?

Work through the 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 27 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.

Can chapter 27 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 27 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.

Questions about reading The Young Salesman

Common questions about reading The Young Salesman by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Young Salesman?

Yes. All 5106 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56798 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Young Salesman is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #56798, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Young Salesman take to read?

About 425 minutes of reading across 1022 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Young Salesman section by section

How to work through The Young Salesman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Young Salesman to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Young Salesman

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Young Salesman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Board
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Young Salesman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Arcturus
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Young Salesman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Halfway
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Young Salesman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Across
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Young Salesman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.