Chapter 15 of From Billabong to London is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of From Billabong to London is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MIST AND MOONLIGHT. “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising. It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.” “Especially the last!” said Norah, laughing. “Well—possibly.
Chapter 15 of From Billabong to London is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
plural of “attack” — (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading “It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.””
being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
From this reading “It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.””
try to prevent; show opposition to
From this reading ““AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.”
plural of “lead” — an advantage held by a competitor in a race
From this reading “It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.””
become covered with mist
From this reading “MIST AND MOONLIGHT.”
the light of the Moon
From this reading “MIST AND MOONLIGHT.”
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading “It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.””
serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
From this reading “It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.””
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 “It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.””
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 It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MIST AND MOONLIGHT.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
plural of “attack” — (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
try to prevent; show opposition to
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
(physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading “Especially the last!” said Norah, laughing.
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
immediately past
From this reading “Especially the last!” said Norah, laughing.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading “Especially the last!” said Norah, laughing.
plural of “lead” — an advantage held by a competitor in a race
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
become covered with mist
From this reading MIST AND MOONLIGHT.
the light of the Moon
From this reading MIST AND MOONLIGHT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
by chance
From this reading “Well—possibly.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
a special situation
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well—possibly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It’s a bad thing—leads to chronic attacks of superfluous energy, and embroils passengers with the deck-hands.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “AS you know, Miss Norah,” the captain said gravely, “I discourage early rising.
Chapter 15 of From Billabong to London by Mary Grant Bruce holds 279 sentences, grouped into 56 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 279 sentences of From Billabong to London, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of From Billabong to London by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 279 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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.
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Yes. All 5697 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60444 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60444, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 474 minutes of reading across 1140 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through From Billabong to London section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in From Billabong to London, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
