Chapter 1 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Half a minute, Eliza.” She smiled at the slatternly girl. “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.” She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously. “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
Chapter 1 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 23/69 · 5 reading units · Lines 111–115
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.
away from the right path or direction
From this reading ““Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.””
a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading “She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.”
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading ““I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.”
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading ““Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.””
perfected or made shiny and smooth
From this reading “She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.”
very drunk
From this reading “She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.”
inflected form of “spill” — cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container
From this reading ““I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.”
with vigor; in a vigorous manner
From this reading “She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.”
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 “Half a minute, Eliza.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
away from the right path or direction
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She smiled at the slatternly girl.
a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Half a minute, Eliza.”
a young female
From this reading She smiled at the slatternly girl.
destroyed or killed
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading “Half a minute, Eliza.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “Half a minute, Eliza.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
perfected or made shiny and smooth
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She smiled at the slatternly girl.
characteristic of or befitting a slut or slattern; used especially of women
From this reading She smiled at the slatternly girl.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading She smiled at the slatternly girl.
very drunk
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
inflected form of “spill” — cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She smiled at the slatternly girl.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
the upper part of anything
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
with vigor; in a vigorous manner
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She placed the soaked cloth on the waste-paper basket and polished the top of the table vigorously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'll bet it worn't you wot spilt it--but it's you wot 'as the cleanin' up,” muttered Eliza.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Sorry to keep you waiting; there's a river of ink gone astray here.”
Chapter 1 of Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce holds 345 sentences, grouped into 69 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 1 holds 345 sentences of Back to Billabong, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 345 sentences, grouped into 69 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 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 69 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 1 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 Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Back to Billabong section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Back to Billabong 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 Back to Billabong, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
