Chapter XVII of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow, “Avalanche,” is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVII of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow, “Avalanche,” is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard. Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly. A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it. “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely. “Don’t move!”
Chapter XVII of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow, “Avalanche,” is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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 large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin
From this reading “A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.”
an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)
From this reading “The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.”
with obstinate determination
From this reading “The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.”
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading “The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.”
-ing form of “hurtle” — move with or as if with a rushing sound
From this reading “A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.”
the side or slope of a mountain
From this reading “A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.”
the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
From this reading “The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.”
United States filmmaker who with his brothers founded the movie studio that produced the first talking picture (1881-1958)
From this reading “Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.”
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 “The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.”
seek information from
In this reading “Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.”
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 party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
(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 A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
a large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
with obstinate determination
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Don’t move!”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
in a hoarse or husky voice
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
-ing form of “hurtle” — move with or as if with a rushing sound
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.
the side or slope of a mountain
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Don’t move!”
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
with speed
From this reading Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
be standing; be upright
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
having a sharp inclination
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading A giant boulder was hurtling down the steep mountainside, taking all before it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
in the direction of
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
United States filmmaker who with his brothers founded the movie studio that produced the first talking picture (1881-1958)
From this reading Warner, in the lead, looked up quickly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
at the time that
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
in or at the place that
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The party worked itself on up toward the summit, climbing doggedly, single file—when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Stand where you are!” he shouted hoarsely.
Chapter 17 of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow by Don Palmer holds 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 17 holds 88 sentences of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow by Don Palmer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 17 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 Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow by Don Palmer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3883 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54632 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54632, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 777 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow 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 Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
