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Miss Billy
Miss Billy

Chapter XIII · Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of Miss Billy is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Miss Billy
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
WHAT BERTRAM CALLS THE LIMIT At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.
Pete answered it.
Well?”--Pete never said hello.”
Hello.
Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Miss Billy

Chapter XIII · Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of Miss Billy is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
WHAT BERTRAM CALLSTHE LIMITAt half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.
Line 2
Pete answered it.
Line 3
Well?”--Pete never saidhello.”
Line 4
Hello.
/həˈloʊ/
Line 5
Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Beacon noun US /ˈbiːkən/

a fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance

From this reading “WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.”

Billy's noun US /ˈbɪliz/

possessive form of “billy” — a short stout club used primarily by policemen

From this reading “Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.”

calls noun US /kɔːlz/

plural of “call” — a telephone connection

From this reading “WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.”

hello noun US /həˈloʊ/

an expression of greeting

From this reading ““Well?”--Pete never said “hello.””

limit noun US /ˈlɪmət/

the greatest possible degree of something

From this reading “WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.”

rang verb US /ræŋ/

inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously

From this reading “WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.”

sharply adverb US /ˈʃɑːrpli/

in an aggressive manner

From this reading “WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.”

telephone noun US /ˈteləfoʊn/

electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds

From this reading “WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.”

All words in this reading · 41

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.

agitatedly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

answeredverbUS /ˈænsərd/

past form of “answer” — react verbally

From this reading Pete answered it.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

BeaconnounUS /ˈbiːkən/

a fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

bellnounUS /bel/

a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

BERTRAM

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

Billy'snounUS /ˈbɪliz/

possessive form of “billy” — a short stout club used primarily by policemen

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

calledverbUS /kɔːld/

past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

CALLSnounUS /kɔːlz/

plural of “call” — a telephone connection

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

eveningnounUS /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

followingadjectiveUS /ˈfɑːloʊɪŋ/

about to be mentioned or specified

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

halfadjectiveUS /hæf/

consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

hellonounUS /həˈloʊ/

an expression of greeting

From this reading “Well?”--Pete never said “hello.”

housenounUS /haʊs/

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

Isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Pete answered it.

LIMITnounUS /ˈlɪmət/

the greatest possible degree of something

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

MrsnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading “Well?”--Pete never said “hello.”

o'clockadverbUS /əˈklɑːk/

according to the clock

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

pastnounUS /pæst/

the time that has elapsed

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

Pete

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Pete answered it.

plainadjectiveUS /pleɪn/

clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

rangverbUS /ræŋ/

inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading “Well?”--Pete never said “hello.”

sharplyadverbUS /ˈʃɑːrpli/

in an aggressive manner

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

Stetson's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

StreetnounUS /striːt/

a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

talkverbUS /tɔːk/

exchange thoughts; talk with

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

telephonenounUS /ˈteləfoʊn/

electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

tennounUS /ten/

the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

veryadjectiveUS /ˈveri/

precisely as stated

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

voicenounUS /vɔɪs/

the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

WelladverbUS /wel/

(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?”--Pete never said “hello.”

WHATpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

William

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading WHAT BERTRAM CALLS “THE LIMIT” At half past ten o'clock on the evening following Mrs. Stetson's very plain talk with William, the telephone bell at the Beacon Street house rang sharply.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Is that you, Pete?” called Billy's voice agitatedly.

Chapter 13 of Miss Billy by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 13 of Miss Billy contain?

Chapter 13 holds 128 sentences of Miss Billy, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 13 of Miss Billy by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 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.

How do I study chapter 13 of Miss Billy?

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.

Can chapter 13 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 13 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.

Questions about reading Miss Billy

Common questions about reading Miss Billy by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Miss Billy?

Yes. All 4086 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3266 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Miss Billy is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3266, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Miss Billy take to read?

About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Miss Billy section by section

How to work through Miss Billy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 38 chapters of Miss Billy to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Miss Billy

Words and structures a reader meets early in Miss Billy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Billy
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Miss Billy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Neilson
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Miss Billy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Eighteen
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Miss Billy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Years
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Miss Billy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.