Chapter XXI of Billy Mink, “Billy Mink’s Surprise,” is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXI of Billy Mink, “Billy Mink’s Surprise,” is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain. _Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes. At first he couldn’t think where he was. Everything about him was strange. Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
Chapter XXI of Billy Mink, “Billy Mink’s Surprise,” is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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 short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “_Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.”
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading “A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.”
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.”
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.”
the expensive fur of a mink
From this reading “_Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.”
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading “_Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.”
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading “A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.”
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 A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Everything about him was strange.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading _Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything about him was strange.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
opinion or judgment
From this reading _Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Everything about him was strange.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
engage in
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
the expensive fur of a mink
From this reading _Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading _Billy Mink._ Billy Mink opened his eyes.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Everything about him was strange.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
in or at that place or location
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then, all in a flash, it came to him where he was.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
in or at the place that
From this reading At first he couldn’t think where he was.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading A cause there is that will explain A mystery, and make it plain.
Chapter 21 of Billy Mink by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 46 sentences, grouped into 10 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 21 holds 46 sentences of Billy Mink, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Billy Mink by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 46 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 21 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 Billy Mink by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1407 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65308 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65308, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 117 minutes of reading across 282 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Billy Mink section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Billy Mink 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 Billy Mink, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
