Chapter 20 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed. At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving. "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh. "I see it," said Jerry, softly. "Right by the big white birch."
Chapter 20 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
From this reading “"Right by the big white birch."”
a statement that represents something in words
From this reading “"It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.”
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.”
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “"It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.”
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading “At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.”
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “"I see it," said Jerry, softly.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “"It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.”
with low volume
From this reading “"I see it," said Jerry, softly.”
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.
European birch with dull white to pale brown bark and somewhat drooping hairy branches
In this reading “"Right by the big white birch."”
In this reading “"Right by the big white birch."”
In this reading “"It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.”
detect with the senses
In this reading “At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.”
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 "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Right by the big white birch."
hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
From this reading "Right by the big white birch."
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Right by the big white birch."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
a statement that represents something in words
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I see it," said Jerry, softly.
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading "I see it," said Jerry, softly.
and nothing more
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
the sound of laughing
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
engage in
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
in motion
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
having a point
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Right by the big white birch."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I see it," said Jerry, softly.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
with low volume
From this reading "I see it," said Jerry, softly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
in or at the place that
From this reading THE GHOST OF THE LAKE They all looked to where Bob pointed.
a Caucasian
From this reading At first they could make out nothing, but Bob insisted that he had seen some tall, white object moving.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "It was just like the description of ghosts," he said, with a queer little laugh.
Chapter 20 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains by Clarence Young holds 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 20 holds 114 sentences of The Motor Boys Across the Plains, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Motor Boys Across the Plains by Clarence Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 20 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.
