Chapter 20 of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter 20 of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried: "Be careful! You'll fall! Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!" Tess bounced back on deck.
Chapter 20 of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat is here in full — 127 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.
past form of “bounce” — spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading “Tess bounced back on deck.”
a small replica of a person; used as a toy
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
a very small circular shape
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
aimless wandering from place to place
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
something that results
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
acting like a clown or buffoon
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
very sad; especially involving grief or death or destruction
From this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
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 “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
In this reading “Tess bounced back on deck.”
In this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
In this reading “DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:”
to come or go into
In this reading “Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"”
In this reading “Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Tess bounced back on deck.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Be careful!
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
past form of “bounce” — spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading Tess bounced back on deck.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
showing who or what does the action
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
exercising caution or showing care or attention
From this reading "Be careful!
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading Tess bounced back on deck.
a small replica of a person; used as a toy
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"
a very small circular shape
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
aimless wandering from place to place
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
the boundary of a surface
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading You'll fall!
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
moving to the inside of something
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Tess bounced back on deck.
something that results
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
above and across; more than
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
acting like a clown or buffoon
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
very sad; especially involving grief or death or destruction
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
(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 Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading DRIFTING Dot burst into tears, and Tess, startled by the sudden tragic outcome of her prank, leaned so far over the edge of the boat to see what happened to the doll that Ruth cried:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Don't you go into the lake, as well as the doll!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You'll fall!
Chapter 20 of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat by Grace Brooks Hill holds 127 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 20 holds 127 sentences of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat by Grace Brooks Hill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 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 20 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 The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat by Grace Brooks Hill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3786 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38609 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38609, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 315 minutes of reading across 758 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat 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 The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
