Chapter 26 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY. March 11. 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m. The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly. By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
Chapter 26 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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.
a town at the southern tip of Illinois at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
From this reading “By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.”
largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan
From this reading “1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.”
the activity of selecting the scenes to be shown and putting them together to create a film
From this reading “The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.”
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading “By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.”
march in a procession
From this reading “March 11.”
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 “By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.”
in a relentless manner
From this reading “The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.”
plural of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.”
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 “By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.”
In this reading “By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.”
In this reading “The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.”
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 March 11.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
a town at the southern tip of Illinois at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
clothing in general
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
the activity of selecting the scenes to be shown and putting them together to create a film
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
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 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
march in a procession
From this reading March 11.
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 By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
in a heavy and oppressive way
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
in a relentless manner
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
Identical; not different.
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
not in physical motion
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 1904.--We left Chicago at 6 p. m.
(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 By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading By the time we reached Cairo the change was evident; and next evening at the same hour we were well down in Mississippi, and our clothes oppressively warm.
plural of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading FROM WINTER TO SUMMER IN A DAY.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The ground was covered with snow, the winds cutting through our clothes, and winter still held his own relentlessly.
Chapter 26 of The Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh holds 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 26 holds 35 sentences of The Houseboat Book, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 26 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.
