Chapter 8 of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health. For a second not a word was spoken. Then Clay laughed. This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison. Then Case grew sober.
Chapter 8 of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading “Then Clay laughed.”
plural of “climb” — an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
From this reading “ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.”
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading “ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.”
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.”
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
From this reading “ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.”
not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “Then Case grew sober.”
a slight but appreciable amount
From this reading “ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.”
corresponding exactly
From this reading “This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.”
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 “ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.”
In this reading “This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.”
investigate scientifically
In this reading “ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.”
In this reading “For a second not a word was spoken.”
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 ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
(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 This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Then Case grew sober.
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading Then Clay laughed.
plural of “climb” — an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a second not a word was spoken.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Then Case grew sober.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Then Clay laughed.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
the force of workers available
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading For a second not a word was spoken.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading For a second not a word was spoken.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading Then Case grew sober.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading For a second not a word was spoken.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then Clay laughed.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
a slight but appreciable amount
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
corresponding exactly
From this reading This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For a second not a word was spoken.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading ALEX CLIMBS A TREE The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading For a second not a word was spoken.
Chapter 8 of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande by Harry Gordon holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 8 holds 166 sentences of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande by Harry Gordon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 8 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 River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande by Harry Gordon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3490 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50799 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50799, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 698 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande 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 River Motor Boat Boys on the Rio Grande, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
