Chapter 16 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river. G. ESSEX EVANS. Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet. At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval. They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
Chapter 16 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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 disliking something or what someone is doing
From this reading “At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.”
a county in southeastern England on the North Sea and the Thames estuary
From this reading “G. ESSEX EVANS.”
United States anatomist who identified four pituitary hormones and discovered vitamin E (1882-1971)
From this reading “G. ESSEX EVANS.”
plural of “expression” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.”
the side or slope of a hill
From this reading “ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.”
to move hurriedly
From this reading “Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.”
a silly and inept person; someone who is regarded as stupid
From this reading “Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.”
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 Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
anew
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
exhale hard
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
a feeling of disliking something or what someone is doing
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
the act of consuming food
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
a county in southeastern England on the North Sea and the Thames estuary
From this reading G. ESSEX EVANS.
United States anatomist who identified four pituitary hormones and discovered vitamin E (1882-1971)
From this reading G. ESSEX EVANS.
plural of “expression” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
opinion or judgment
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading G. ESSEX EVANS.
excessively quick
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
the side or slope of a hill
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
move hurridly
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
to move hurriedly
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
in a grave and sedate manner
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They did not raise their eyes as Wally entered.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
plural of “trace” — a just detectable amount
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
a silly and inept person; someone who is regarded as stupid
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading At the table Norah and Jim were eating solemnly, with expressions of deep disapproval.
at the time that
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
plural of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading ON THE HILLSIDE Never again, when the soft winds blow, We shall ride by the river.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Wally came into breakfast with a rush and a scramble, bearing traces of a hasty toilet.
Chapter 16 of Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 16 holds 271 sentences of Mates at Billabong, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 16 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 Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4194 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4050 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4050, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mates at Billabong section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Mates at Billabong 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 Mates at Billabong, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
