Chapter 11 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MISSISSIPPI. Nov. 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind. This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly. We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
Chapter 11 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
closed to traffic
From this reading “We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.”
rescue equipment consisting of a device that fills with air and retards your fall
From this reading “We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.”
a major North American river and the chief river of the United States; rises in northern Minnesota and flows southward into the Gulf of Mexico
From this reading “THE MISSISSIPPI.”
plural of “mooring” — a place where a craft can be made fast
From this reading “28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.”
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading “Nov.”
past form of “pound” — hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading “This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.”
front part of a vessel or aircraft
From this reading “This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.”
in an unpleasant manner
From this reading “This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.”
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 “28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
closed to traffic
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
rescue equipment consisting of a device that fills with air and retards your fall
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
a major North American river and the chief river of the United States; rises in northern Minnesota and flows southward into the Gulf of Mexico
From this reading THE MISSISSIPPI.
plural of “mooring” — a place where a craft can be made fast
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading Nov.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
plural of “pass” — (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
past form of “pound” — hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
front part of a vessel or aircraft
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MISSISSIPPI.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
in an unpleasant manner
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading This made waves that pounded our prow unpleasantly.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading We passed the Kaskaskia chute, through which the whole river now passes, since the Government has blocked up the old river bed.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
the day immediately before today
From this reading 28, 1903.--Yesterday morning we left our moorings 45 miles below St. Louis, and came down the river against the wind.
Chapter 11 of The Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 11 holds 96 sentences of The Houseboat Book, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 11 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 Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2116 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44656 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44656, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 176 minutes of reading across 424 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Houseboat Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Houseboat Book 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 Houseboat Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
