Chapter 12 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘Please try this armchair. No doubt you have had a tiring walk. It is still very warm in the afternoons. I think it was so kind of you to call.’ A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
Chapter 12 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
plural of “afternoon” — the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading “It is still very warm in the afternoons.”
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading “‘Please try this armchair.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.”
past form of “flicker” — move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading “A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.”
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “‘Please try this armchair.”
producing exhaustion
From this reading “No doubt you have had a tiring walk.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “No doubt you have had a tiring walk.”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “It is still very warm in the afternoons.”
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 No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
plural of “afternoon” — the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading ‘Please try this armchair.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
absence of light or illumination
From this reading A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
past form of “flicker” — move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
not any; not one
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading ‘Please try this armchair.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
not in physical motion
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ‘Please try this armchair.
producing exhaustion
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
make an effort or attempt
From this reading ‘Please try this armchair.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading A faint smile flickered upon the dark face.
precisely as stated
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading It is still very warm in the afternoons.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I think it was so kind of you to call.’
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading No doubt you have had a tiring walk.
Chapter 12 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus by Arthur Conan Doyle holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 12 holds 417 sentences of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus by Arthur Conan Doyle exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 12 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 A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus by Arthur Conan Doyle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5435 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5260 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5260, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 452 minutes of reading across 1087 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus 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 A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
