Chapter 2 of Miss Billy's Decision is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Miss Billy's Decision is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk. Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand. “Writing, my dear? Then don't let me disturb you.” She turned as if to go.
Chapter 2 of Miss Billy's Decision is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
enjoying or affording comforting warmth and shelter especially in a small space
From this reading “In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.”
the specified day of the month
From this reading “Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.”
move deeply
From this reading “Then don't let me disturb you.””
the side or slope of a hill
From this reading “In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.”
the month following September and preceding November
From this reading “Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.”
a writing implement with a point from which ink flows
From this reading “Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.”
a hat made of felt with a creased crown
From this reading “Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.”
past form of “trace” — follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
From this reading “Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.”
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 Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She turned as if to go.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
enjoying or affording comforting warmth and shelter especially in a small space
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
the specified day of the month
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
dearly loved
From this reading “Writing, my dear?
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
move deeply
From this reading Then don't let me disturb you.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then don't let me disturb you.”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She turned as if to go.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
the side or slope of a hill
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She turned as if to go.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
and nothing more
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Then don't let me disturb you.”
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then don't let me disturb you.”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Writing, my dear?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
the month following September and preceding November
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
a writing implement with a point from which ink flows
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned as if to go.
a hat made of felt with a creased crown
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then don't let me disturb you.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She turned as if to go.
past form of “trace” — follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned as if to go.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
at the time that
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her pen had just traced the date, “October twenty-fifth,” when Mrs. Stetson entered with a letter in her hand.
the act of creating written works
From this reading In the cozy living-room at Hillside, Billy Neilson's pretty home on Corey Hill, Billy herself sat writing at the desk.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Then don't let me disturb you.”
Chapter 2 of Miss Billy's Decision by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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.
Chapter 2 holds 173 sentences of Miss Billy's Decision, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Miss Billy's Decision by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 2 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 Miss Billy's Decision by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5345 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #362 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #362, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 445 minutes of reading across 1069 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Miss Billy's Decision section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Miss Billy's Decision 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 Miss Billy's Decision, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
