Chapter 17 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry. "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson. "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers. At least that's the yarn they tell." "Was the hermit always there?" asked Ned.
Chapter 17 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading “A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.”
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.”
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading “"Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.”
plural of “murder” — unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
From this reading “"There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.”
plural of “shore” — the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading “"There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.”
plural of “traveler” — a person who changes location
From this reading “"There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.”
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
From this reading “At least that's the yarn they tell."”
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 “A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “"Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.”
In this reading “"There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.”
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 A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "Was the hermit always there?" asked Ned.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At least that's the yarn they tell."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading At least that's the yarn they tell."
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
plural of “murder” — unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Was the hermit always there?" asked Ned.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
plural of “shore” — the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
required or under orders
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
express in words
From this reading At least that's the yarn they tell."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At least that's the yarn they tell."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Was the hermit always there?" asked Ned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At least that's the yarn they tell."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
plural of “traveler” — a person who changes location
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Was the hermit always there?" asked Ned.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading A LONELY CABIN "What hermit?" asked Jerry.
which person or people
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading "There's supposed to be a sort of wild man who lives on the shores of the lake, and he murders travelers.
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
From this reading At least that's the yarn they tell."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why you haven't heard half the story of Lost Lake," went on Johnson.
Chapter 17 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains by Clarence Young holds 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 17 holds 143 sentences of The Motor Boys Across the Plains, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains by Clarence Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 17 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 Motor Boys Across the Plains by Clarence Young on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3455 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43509 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43509, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 287 minutes of reading across 691 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Motor Boys Across the Plains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Motor Boys Across the Plains 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 Motor Boys Across the Plains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
