Chapter 27 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 25 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 25 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VOYAGE ENDED. And here our voyage ended. The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children. Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of. Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
Chapter 27 of The Houseboat Book is here in full — 25 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
towards the shore from the water
From this reading “The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.”
plural of “difficulty” — an effort that is inconvenient
From this reading “Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.”
having made preparations
From this reading “Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.”
motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
From this reading “Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.”
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading “Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.”
understood perfectly
From this reading “Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.”
a state in south central United States
From this reading “Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.”
an act of traveling by water
From this reading “VOYAGE ENDED.”
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.
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 And here our voyage ended.
towards the shore from the water
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
plural of “difficulty” — an effort that is inconvenient
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
having made preparations
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading VOYAGE ENDED.
motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
set up or found
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading And here our voyage ended.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
understood perfectly
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
a state in south central United States
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading And here our voyage ended.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
up to a particular time
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
an act of traveling by water
From this reading VOYAGE ENDED.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
during the time that
From this reading Millie went to St. Louis, and Jim to Oklahoma; while Frank and Jake remained on the boat until it was finally disposed of.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading The doctor moved ashore to join his wife and children.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Frank had worked on the engine until he had mastered her, and found the difficulties.
Chapter 27 of The Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh holds 25 sentences, grouped into 5 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 27 holds 25 sentences of The Houseboat Book, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Houseboat Book by W. F. (William Francis) Waugh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 25 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 27 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.
