Chapter 3 of The House Boat Boys is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The House Boat Boys is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
UNWELCOME VISITOKS. "Hello, Maurice!" The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes. "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment. "Come out here, will you.
Chapter 3 of The House Boat Boys is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
clothing in general
From this reading “The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello, Maurice!"”
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading “"What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.”
outside a building
From this reading “The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.”
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading “"What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.”
a crocheted or knitted garment covering the upper part of the body
From this reading “"What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.”
not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure
From this reading “UNWELCOME VISITOKS.”
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 "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
later than; following
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
react verbally
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
clothing in general
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come out here, will you.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello, Maurice!"
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Come out here, will you.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hello, Maurice!"
a particular point in time
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Come out here, will you.
outside a building
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
above and across; more than
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
a crocheted or knitted garment covering the upper part of the body
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure
From this reading UNWELCOME VISITOKS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading UNWELCOME VISITOKS.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What now?" came the muffled answer, for Maurice was pulling a sweater over his head at the moment.
which person or people
From this reading The call came from Thad, who had been the first to step outdoors after getting into his clothes.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Come out here, will you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Come out here, will you.
Chapter 3 of The House Boat Boys by St. George Rathborne holds 66 sentences, grouped into 14 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 3 holds 66 sentences of The House Boat Boys, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The House Boat Boys by St. George Rathborne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 66 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 3 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 House Boat Boys by St. George Rathborne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2398 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4941 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4941, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 199 minutes of reading across 480 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House Boat Boys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The House Boat Boys 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 House Boat Boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
