The Last of the Flatboats

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By George Cary Eggleston • Curated US English Learning Edition

Chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats by George Cary Eggleston holds 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

What does chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats contain?

Chapter 2 holds 102 sentences of The Last of the Flatboats, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats by George Cary Eggleston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats?

Work through the 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 21 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 2 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.

Questions about reading The Last of the Flatboats

Common questions about reading The Last of the Flatboats by George Cary Eggleston on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Last of the Flatboats?

Yes. All 3771 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44922 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Last of the Flatboats is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #44922, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Last of the Flatboats take to read?

About 314 minutes of reading across 755 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Last of the Flatboats section by section

How to work through The Last of the Flatboats section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Last of the Flatboats to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Last of the Flatboats

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Last of the Flatboats, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Story: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last of the Flatboats; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mississippi: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last of the Flatboats; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Interesting: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last of the Flatboats; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Family: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last of the Flatboats; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Cover illustration for The Last of the Flatboats

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

HOW IT ALL BEGAN When the wheel shaft was tugged ashore, the boys slipped on their clothes again and retired to the shade of the big sycamore tree, where Ed Lowry had left the book he had been reading.

Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.

Philip threw himself down to rest.

He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter II Reading 1/21

The Last of the Flatboats

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/21 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

Line 2

Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.

Line 3

Philip threw himself down to rest.

Line 4

He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

Line 5

It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

Learner Dictionary

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, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “HOW IT ALL BEGAN When the wheel shaft was tugged ashore, the boys slipped on their clothes again and retired to the shade of the big sycamore tree, where Ed Lowry had left the book he had been reading.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “It would have been very hard work even in the open air.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Philip threw himself down to rest.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.”

Open verb US /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading “It would have been very hard work even in the open air.”

Retired verb US /rɪˈtaɪərd/

went away to a private place

Toward preposition US /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading “He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.”

Under preposition US /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading “He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.”

Within preposition US /wɪˈðɪn/

inside; before a period of time has passed

From this reading “Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “It would have been very hard work even in the open air.”

All words in this reading · 72

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.

again

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading HOW IT ALL BEGAN When the wheel shaft was tugged ashore, the boys slipped on their clothes again and retired to the shade of the big sycamore tree, where Ed Lowry had left the book he had been reading.

air

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

ALL

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

always

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

ashore

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

BEGAN

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

big

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

book

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

boys

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

clothes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

down

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Philip threw himself down to rest.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

end

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

even

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

first

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

hard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

heavy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Philip threw himself down to rest.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

HOW

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

ITpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

labors

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

left

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

Lowry

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

other

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

Philip

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Philip threw himself down to rest.

physically

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

reach

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.

reading

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

rest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Philip threw himself down to rest.

retiredverbUS /rɪˈtaɪərd/

went away to a private place

shade

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

shaft

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

shore

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

slipped

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

sycamore

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

threw

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Philip threw himself down to rest.

tired

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

tree

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

tugged

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

tugging

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

used

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

very

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

water

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

wheel

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading He was not only tired, he was physically “used up” with his labors under water in tugging first one and then the other end of the heavy shaft toward the shore.

withinprepositionUS /wɪˈðɪn/

inside; before a period of time has passed

From this reading Ed Lowry always had a book within reach.

work

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading It would have been very hard work even in the open air.

Chapter II

What does chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats contain?

How do I study chapter 2 of The Last of the Flatboats?

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

Questions about reading The Last of the Flatboats

How to read The Last of the Flatboats section by section

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Vocabulary met early in The Last of the Flatboats