Chapter 5 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?” The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's. The children were out in the garden at the back of the house. Mrs. Rainham was practising in the drawing-room. The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
Chapter 5 of Back to Billabong is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading “The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.”
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.”
a long, loose outer garment
From this reading “The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.”
the work of a sailor
From this reading “SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?””
joining or attaching by stitches
From this reading “The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.”
a note that alternates rapidly with another note a semitone above it
From this reading “The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.”
spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position
From this reading “The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.”
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.”
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 The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Rainham was practising in the drawing-room.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
a long, loose outer garment
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Rainham was practising in the drawing-room.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
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 SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Rainham was practising in the drawing-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Rainham was practising in the drawing-room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
the work of a sailor
From this reading SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?”
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
of or relating to a sepulchre
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
joining or attaching by stitches
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
in or at that place or location
From this reading SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
a note that alternates rapidly with another note a semitone above it
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position
From this reading The sound of a high trill floated upwards as she opened the door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mrs. Rainham was practising in the drawing-room.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The children were out in the garden at the back of the house.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading The sepulchral whisper came faintly to Cecilia's ears as she sat in her little room, sewing a frock of Queenie's.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading SAILING ORDERS “Are you there, miss?”
Chapter 5 of Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce holds 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 5 holds 287 sentences of Back to Billabong, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 5 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.
