Chapter 17 of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal. Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful. "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe. "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom. "You do a tank act, you tell me."
Chapter 17 of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 feeling of delighted approval and liking
From this reading “THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.”
produce or yield flowers
From this reading “"They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.”
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading “Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.”
make tight; secure against leakage
From this reading “THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.”
moving very fast
From this reading “Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.”
travel through water
From this reading “"If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.”
the act of swimming
From this reading “THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.”
an enclosed armored military vehicle; has a cannon and moves on caterpillar treads
From this reading “"You do a tank act, you tell me."”
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 "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
a feeling of delighted approval and liking
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
produce or yield flowers
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "You do a tank act, you tell me."
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
and nothing more
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
make tight; secure against leakage
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
moving very fast
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
travel through water
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
the act of swimming
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
an enclosed armored military vehicle; has a cannon and moves on caterpillar treads
From this reading "You do a tank act, you tell me."
express in words
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE NEW ACT Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom.
Chapter 17 of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish by Vance Barnum holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 165 sentences of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish by Vance Barnum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Joe Strong, the Boy Fish by Vance Barnum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3256 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25095 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25095, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 271 minutes of reading across 652 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Joe Strong, the Boy Fish section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Joe Strong, the Boy Fish 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 Joe Strong, the Boy Fish, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
