Chapter 12 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight. “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob. “What’s the use?” inquired Jerry. “We don’t want to leave our boat. Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
Chapter 12 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.”
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.”
informal intensifiers
From this reading “AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.”
open to doubt or suspicion
From this reading “Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?””
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading ““What’s the use?” inquired Jerry.”
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading “AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.”
owed as a debt
From this reading “Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?””
the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
From this reading “AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
later than; following
From this reading “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob.
in addition to; as well as
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading “We don’t want to leave our boat.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
informal intensifiers
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We don’t want to leave our boat.
open to doubt or suspicion
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
start firing a weapon
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading “What’s the use?” inquired Jerry.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “What’s the use?” inquired Jerry.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
go away from a place
From this reading “We don’t want to leave our boat.
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “We don’t want to leave our boat.
owed as a debt
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
express in words
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob.
carry out
From this reading “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “We don’t want to leave our boat.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
the act of using
From this reading “What’s the use?” inquired Jerry.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “We don’t want to leave our boat.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Shall we take after them?” asked Bob.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading AN ALARM OF FIRE An instant later the motor boys could hear a crashing of bushes and underbrush that told them Noddy and Bill were in flight.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s the use?” inquired Jerry.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Besides, if we did catch them, which is doubtful, owing to the darkness, what would we say?”
Chapter 12 of The Motor Boys Afloat by Clarence Young holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 12 holds 119 sentences of The Motor Boys Afloat, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Motor Boys Afloat by Clarence Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 12 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 Afloat by Clarence Young on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3627 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44788 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44788, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Motor Boys Afloat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Motor Boys Afloat 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 Afloat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
