Chapter 15 of Betty Gordon in Washington is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Betty Gordon in Washington is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books. Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her. "Gracious! I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?" Bobby whispered.
Chapter 15 of Betty Gordon in Washington is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading “Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.”
a shop where books are sold
From this reading “WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.”
a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country' (1755-1776)
From this reading “WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.”
fasten with a latch
From this reading “WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.”
bordered by a line of things
From this reading “WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.”
out of fashion
From this reading “WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.”
made afraid
From this reading “I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"”
-ing form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading “Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.”
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 WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
a shop where books are sold
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading "Gracious!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country' (1755-1776)
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
fasten with a latch
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
bordered by a line of things
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
out of fashion
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
made afraid
From this reading I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
-ing form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
express in words
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
a message informing of danger
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading Bobby whispered.
in the company of; together with
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading WHAT HALE HAD TO TELL The door of the bookstore opened with a loose old-fashioned latch, and one fell down two steps without warning into a long, narrow room lined with books.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Betty went first, and Bobby, stumbling, would have fallen if she had not caught her.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I'm a little bit scared, aren't you?"
Chapter 15 of Betty Gordon in Washington by Alice B. Emerson holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 15 holds 122 sentences of Betty Gordon in Washington, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Betty Gordon in Washington by Alice B. Emerson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 15 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 Betty Gordon in Washington by Alice B. Emerson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2714 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6853 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6853, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 226 minutes of reading across 543 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Betty Gordon in Washington section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Betty Gordon in Washington 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 Betty Gordon in Washington, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
