The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery; Or, The Christmas Adventure at Carver House: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Hildegard G. Frey uses again and again in The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery; Or, The Christmas Adventure at Carver House that are outside the 4,000 most common in English. Learn them first and the opening chapters read much more easily. Each comes with its pronunciation and a sentence from the book.
exclaim/ɪkˈskɫeɪm/41× in the book
she exclaimed, demolishing the mountain by throwing the quilt aside with a sudden movement of her arms and disclosing a slender little body wrapped in a grayish woolen dressing gown.
stairs/ˈstɛɹz/40× in the book
… backed away from the banister, ran down the stairs two steps at a time and disappeared through the front door, leaving Katherine standing in the empty hall …
shutter/ˈʃətɝ/39× in the book
On the inside of the glass—if there was a pane of glass there—was a heavy black iron shutter fastened to the casement with great screws.
footprint/ˈfʊtˌpɹɪnt/28× in the book
… eager to begin the search for the secret passage again, but whatever plans they had formed were driven entirely out of their minds by the appearance of the footprints on the stairs.
princess/ˈpɹɪnsɛs/18× in the book
She did not know how to act when introduced to a princess.
upstairs/əpˈstɛɹz/18× in the book
With the prospect of a fresh field for investigation the others revived their interest in the search and followed Nyoda eagerly as she led the way upstairs and unlocked the closed door at the head.
exclamation/ˌɛkskɫəˈmeɪʃən/16× in the book
From somewhere in the room came a sudden exclamation of surprise.
burglar/ˈbɝɡɫɝ/16× in the book
She must explain quickly, or he would take her for a burglar, coming in that way and looking around with a flashlight.
downstairs/ˈdaʊnˈstɛɹz/16× in the book
Upstairs and downstairs they tapped, peered, pried and investigated, but without success.
aunt/ˈænt/15× in the book
“Or have you had something to eat since your aunt went away?”
queer/ˈkwɪɹ/14× in the book
Then a queer, bewildered look came into her eyes and she stood still with the book hanging uncertainly from her fingers.
royal/ˈɹɔɪəɫ/13× in the book
“This is the royal hunting lodge, and I am the Princess Sylvia!”
spell/ˈspɛɫ/13× in the book
Katherine felt the spell of it and gradually her hasty steps became slower and at times she stood still and looked upon the quiet scene with a feeling of awe and reverence.
jest/ˈdʒɛst/12× in the book
I ain’t tellin’ why I wants it put up; I jest wants it put up, dat’s all.’
bookseller/ˈbʊkˌsɛɫɝ/12× in the book
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers, A.
postpaid12× in the book
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers.
cellar/ˈsɛɫɝ/12× in the book
The cellar windows had a heavy screening over them on the outside which could not be removed without being destroyed, and this screening was everywhere intact.
receipt/ɹiˈsit/12× in the book
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers A.
ladder/ˈɫædɝ/12× in the book
In the opening thus made they could see the top of an iron ladder set upright against the wall below.
stove/ˈstoʊv/12× in the book
… a cot bed next to the wall; a small stove; a rocking chair and a sewing machine …
faint/ˈfeɪnt/12× in the book
It loomed large and silent before her, its frost covered window panes shining whitely in the starlight with a faint, ghostly glimmer.
lark/ˈɫɑɹk/11× in the book
“Hark, hark, the lark at heaven’s gate sings,
shriek/ˈʃɹik/11× in the book
Nyoda gave a little shriek of laughter and held it up for the Winnebagos to see.
aloud/əˈɫaʊd/11× in the book
she said aloud to herself scornfully, with a flash of her brown eyes, and Katherine caught a glimpse of an indomitable spirit that no hardship could bow down.
sail/ˈseɪɫ/11× in the book
He’s goin’ ter sail Noo Year’s Day.”
astonishment/əˈstɑnɪʃmənt/10× in the book
… leaving Katherine standing in the empty hall, open-mouthed with astonishment.
stairway/ˈstɛɹˌweɪ/10× in the book
By the way they point, the man was going downstairs, but they begin in the middle of the stairway.
mahogany/məˈhɑɡəni/10× in the book
Idly she turned her flashlight on the staircase and noticed that the post was of beautifully carved mahogany.
hastily/ˈheɪstəɫi/10× in the book
I knocked before I came in,” she added hastily, “but you didn’t come to the door, so I took the liberty of walking in.
bill/ˈbɪɫ/10× in the book
She looked carefully through the desk first, through old account books and files of papers and bills, but came upon nothing that touched upon repairs made to the house.
eagerly/ˈiɡɝɫi/10× in the book
asked Sahwah eagerly, pausing with the nutcracker held open in her hand.
lobster/ˈɫɑbstɝ/10× in the book
“Then let’s compromise on lobster croquettes,” said Veronica.
gasp/ˈɡæsp/10× in the book
Katherine felt the hair rising on her head; she gave an odd little dry gasp.
startle/ˈstɑɹtəɫ/10× in the book
At the sound of her voice the man gave a startled jump, backed away from the banister …
till/ˈtɪɫ/10× in the book
Beginning softly, the tone swelled out in volume till it seemed to Katherine’s ears to fill the whole house and to come pouring out of all the doors and windows.
screw/ˈskɹu/10× in the book
It was no easy job, taking that shutter off, for the screws had rusted in so that it was almost impossible to turn them.
costume/ˈkɑstum/10× in the book
Let’s find a masquerade costume for him, too, so he can be one of us.”
north/ˈnɔɹθ/9× in the book
A sportive north wind, racing up the hill, paused at the top to whirl about in a mad frolic, and Katherine shivered from head to foot.
casement9× in the book
She knew it was a window because it was framed in a mahogany casement like the other windows in the house, but instead of a pane of glass there was a dark …
latch/ˈɫætʃ/9× in the book
He examined all the rest of the windows on the first floor, and found them all latched and their latches undisturbed.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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