Chapter 6 of In Far Bolivia is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of In Far Bolivia is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Burly Bill laid down his banjo. Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose. "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope. "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!" "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
Chapter 6 of In Far Bolivia is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading “"De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.”
a stringed instrument of the guitar family that has long neck and circular body
From this reading “Burly Bill laid down his banjo.”
muscular and heavily built
From this reading “Burly Bill laid down his banjo.”
made of calico or resembling calico in being patterned
From this reading “"De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.”
a manually operated device for extinguishing small fires
From this reading “Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.”
plural of “gator” — either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts
From this reading “"We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"”
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading “Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.”
the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
From this reading “"De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.”
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 “"We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"”
refrain from divulging sensitive information; keep quiet about confidential information
In this reading “"Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!”
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 Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
(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 "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
a stringed instrument of the guitar family that has long neck and circular body
From this reading Burly Bill laid down his banjo.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Burly Bill laid down his banjo.
(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
the lower side of anything
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
muscular and heavily built
From this reading Burly Bill laid down his banjo.
made of calico or resembling calico in being patterned
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
dearly loved
From this reading "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Burly Bill laid down his banjo.
a manually operated device for extinguishing small fires
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
plural of “gator” — either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Burly Bill laid down his banjo.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
set down according to a plan
From this reading Burly Bill laid down his banjo.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
a white clayey mineral
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
dirty and disorderly
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
a major river of western Siberia; flows generally northward and westward to the Gulf of Ob and the Kara Sea
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
a strong line
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
in the near future
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Keep quiet, Beeb, there’s a dear soul!
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading Then he pushed his great extinguisher of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose.
the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
From this reading "De good Lawd ha’ mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting her apron into a calico rope.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, and de ’gators a-pickin’ de bones ob us!"
Chapter 6 of In Far Bolivia by Gordon Stables holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 6 holds 129 sentences of In Far Bolivia, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of In Far Bolivia by Gordon Stables exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 6 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 In Far Bolivia by Gordon Stables on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3770 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39728, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 314 minutes of reading across 754 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In Far Bolivia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of In Far Bolivia 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 In Far Bolivia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
