Chapter 24 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking. “The one who was recently robbed?” “The same.” “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before. “I must--no I must not.
Chapter 24 of The Motor Boys Afloat is here in full — 111 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.
United States professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934)
From this reading “A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.”
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading “A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.”
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading “A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.”
in the recent past
From this reading ““The one who was recently robbed?””
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading ““The one who was recently robbed?””
a vagrant
From this reading “A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.”
showing curiosity
From this reading “A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.”
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 A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
United States professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934)
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I must--no I must not.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “I must--no I must not.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
not any; not one
From this reading “I must--no I must not.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I must--no I must not.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “The one who was recently robbed?”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
in the recent past
From this reading “The one who was recently robbed?”
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading “The one who was recently robbed?”
Identical; not different.
From this reading “The same.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
a vagrant
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The one who was recently robbed?”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well if this isn’t--” began the tramp more excited than before.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
which person or people
From this reading “The one who was recently robbed?”
showing curiosity
From this reading A QUEER MESSAGE “Aaron Slade is my father,” replied Ned, wondering what object the tramp could have in asking.
Chapter 24 of The Motor Boys Afloat by Clarence Young holds 111 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 24 holds 111 sentences of The Motor Boys Afloat, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Motor Boys Afloat by Clarence Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 111 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 24 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.
