Chapter 21 of Bouncing Bet is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Bouncing Bet is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile. As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose. “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously. “Slick!” returned the other promptly. “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
Chapter 21 of Bouncing Bet is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading ““How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.”
past form of “avoid” — stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading “TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.”
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading “As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.”
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.”
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading “TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.”
with little or no delay
From this reading ““Slick!” returned the other promptly.”
made afraid
From this reading ““After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.”
a slippery smoothness
From this reading ““Slick!” returned the other promptly.”
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 ““How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.”
In this reading ““After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.”
travel across or pass over
In this reading ““After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.”
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 TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
later than; following
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
past form of “avoid” — stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
travel across or pass over
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “Slick!” returned the other promptly.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
above and across; more than
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
with little or no delay
From this reading “Slick!” returned the other promptly.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “Slick!” returned the other promptly.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
rescued; especially from the power and consequences of sin
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
made afraid
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
a slippery smoothness
From this reading “Slick!” returned the other promptly.
in the near future
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading “After I got over being scared and got used to it, I sort of liked it.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading As soon as the girls were out of the dirty village and facing home, Betty turned eagerly to Rose.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading TOMMY had told Betty of a cross road which avoided Paulding and saved half a mile.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “How do you feel, Rose?” she asked anxiously.
Chapter 21 of Bouncing Bet by Joslyn Gray holds 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 59 sentences of Bouncing Bet, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Bouncing Bet by Joslyn Gray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 Bouncing Bet by Joslyn Gray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3581 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70745 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70745, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 298 minutes of reading across 717 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bouncing Bet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Bouncing Bet 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 Bouncing Bet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
