Chapter 12 of A patriot lad of old Boston is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of A patriot lad of old Boston is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door. Hurry and answer it.” Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping. Knock, knock--_knock_! “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
Chapter 12 of A patriot lad of old Boston is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
blowing in violent and abrupt bursts
From this reading “A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.”
placed crosswise
From this reading ““He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “Hurry and answer it.””
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “Knock, knock--_knock_!”
possessive form of “nephew” — a son of your brother or sister
possessive form of “someone” — a human being
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.”
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination
From this reading “Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.”
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 “Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.”
In this reading “A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.”
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 BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Hurry and answer it.”
react verbally
From this reading Hurry and answer it.”
eagerly desirous
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
blowing in violent and abrupt bursts
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
placed crosswise
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading Hurry and answer it.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Hurry and answer it.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading Knock, knock--_knock_!
a room in a private house or establishment where people can sit and talk and relax
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
engage in
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
possessive form of “nephew” — a son of your brother or sister
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
possessive form of “someone” — a human being
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A BLUSTERING SERGEANT-MAJOR “Donald, someone’s at the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “He’s pretty anxious to make us hear,” said Don as he crossed the floor of the living-room.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Aunt Martha’s voice sounded from her nephew’s room up-stairs, which she was sweeping.
Chapter 12 of A patriot lad of old Boston by Russell Gordon Carter holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 134 sentences of A patriot lad of old Boston, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of A patriot lad of old Boston by Russell Gordon Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 patriot lad of old Boston by Russell Gordon Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2694 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71577 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71577, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 224 minutes of reading across 539 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A patriot lad of old Boston section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of A patriot lad of old Boston 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 patriot lad of old Boston, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
