Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking. The shock was too much for them. They could hardly realize that their craft was gone. Finally Jerry spoke. “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading “They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.”
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading “Finally Jerry spoke.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.”
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “Finally Jerry spoke.”
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading “They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.”
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading “THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “The shock was too much for them.”
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading “THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.”
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 “THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.”
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 THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Finally Jerry spoke.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
destroyed or killed
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
only a very short time before
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading Finally Jerry spoke.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The shock was too much for them.
not any; not one
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading The shock was too much for them.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Finally Jerry spoke.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The shock was too much for them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They could hardly realize that their craft was gone.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The shock was too much for them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The shock was too much for them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ve got to find her!” he exclaimed.
during the time that
From this reading THE SEARCH For a while no one felt like speaking.
Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys Afloat by Clarence Young holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 16 holds 155 sentences of The Motor Boys Afloat, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Motor Boys Afloat by Clarence Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 16 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.
