Chapter 2 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized! Oh, Bob--truly?” “Truly and really,” said Bob. “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days. Got my orders.
Chapter 2 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Oh, Bob--truly?””
past form of “demobilize” — release from military service or remove from the active list of military service
From this reading “PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized!”
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading ““At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.”
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading “Got my orders.”
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading “PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized!”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading ““Truly and really,” said Bob.”
one who is absent from school without permission
From this reading “PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized!”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “Oh, Bob--truly?””
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 “Truly and really,” said Bob.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Oh, Bob--truly?”
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
past form of “demobilize” — release from military service or remove from the active list of military service
From this reading PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized!
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Got my orders.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Got my orders.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, Bob--truly?”
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading Got my orders.
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized!
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “Truly and really,” said Bob.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Truly and really,” said Bob.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
one who is absent from school without permission
From this reading PLAYING TRUANT “Demobilized!
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Oh, Bob--truly?”
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-six and one
From this reading “At least, I shall be in twenty-seven days.
Chapter 2 of Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce holds 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 2 holds 272 sentences of Back to Billabong, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 2 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 4522 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7047 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7047, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 376 minutes of reading across 905 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 15 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.
