Chapter 5 of The Pursuit of the House-Boat is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Pursuit of the House-Boat is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners. That is what bothers me. I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral. That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters. You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
Chapter 5 of The Pursuit of the House-Boat is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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 supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading “I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.”
towards the shore from the water
From this reading “That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.”
plural of “bother” — an angry disturbance
From this reading “That is what bothers me.”
a military campaign designed to achieve a specific objective in a foreign country
From this reading “I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.”
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading “That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.”
the period of time that is happening now; any continuous stretch of time including the moment of speech
From this reading “You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.”
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading “You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading “I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.”
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.
the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
towards the shore from the water
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
plural of “bother” — an angry disturbance
From this reading That is what bothers me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
a military campaign designed to achieve a specific objective in a foreign country
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
the act of departing
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is what bothers me.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading That is what bothers me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
the period of time that is happening now; any continuous stretch of time including the moment of speech
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is what bothers me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Exactly, and we’ll have to pay the milliners.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading That is what bothers me.
in or at the place that
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading I was going to lead this expedition to London, Paris, and New York, admiral.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You cannot nowadays find it on the high seas.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is where the money is, and to get it you’ve got to go ashore, to headquarters.
Chapter 5 of The Pursuit of the House-Boat by John Kendrick Bangs holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 5 holds 179 sentences of The Pursuit of the House-Boat, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Pursuit of the House-Boat by John Kendrick Bangs exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 5 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 Pursuit of the House-Boat by John Kendrick Bangs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1779 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3169 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3169, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 148 minutes of reading across 356 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pursuit of the House-Boat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Pursuit of the House-Boat 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 Pursuit of the House-Boat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
