Chapter 13 of Andy the Acrobat is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Andy the Acrobat is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton. It was nearly midnight. His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much. He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him. He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
Chapter 13 of Andy the Acrobat is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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 rude or vulgar fool
From this reading “BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.”
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.”
with restored energy
From this reading “His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.”
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
From this reading “BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.”
the physical property of being inflexible and hard to bend
From this reading “He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.”
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading “He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.”
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading “BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.”
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.”
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 He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
exhale hard
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
a rude or vulgar fool
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
be the source of pain
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was nearly midnight.
and nothing more
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading It was nearly midnight.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was nearly midnight.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
with restored energy
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
the physical property of being inflexible and hard to bend
From this reading He had to shake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading He got down from the vehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him.
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was nearly midnight.
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading BILLY BLOW, CLOWN Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent site at Clifton.
Chapter 13 of Andy the Acrobat by Peter T. Harkness holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 13 holds 155 sentences of Andy the Acrobat, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Andy the Acrobat by Peter T. Harkness exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 13 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 Andy the Acrobat by Peter T. Harkness on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4172 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 347 minutes of reading across 835 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Andy the Acrobat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Andy the Acrobat 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 Andy the Acrobat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
