Chapter 12 of A Trace of Memory is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of A Trace of Memory is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee. "Now tell me about it," she said. "Why did they burn your house? And how did you succeed in getting here?" "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
Chapter 12 of A Trace of Memory is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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 suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading “"Why did they burn your house?”
past form of “gnaw” — bite or chew on with the teeth
From this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
capital and largest city and economic center of Peru; located in western Peru; was capital of the Spanish empire in the New World until the 19th century
From this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
plural of “shred” — a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
From this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
having only essential or minimal features
From this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading “And how did you succeed in getting here?"”
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.
a table in the kitchen
In this reading “I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.”
In this reading “And how did you succeed in getting here?"”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Now tell me about it," she said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading "Why did they burn your house?
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Why did they burn your house?
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading And how did you succeed in getting here?"
a young female
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
past form of “gnaw” — bite or chew on with the teeth
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading And how did you succeed in getting here?"
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "Why did they burn your house?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And how did you succeed in getting here?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Now tell me about it," she said.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
immediately past
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
capital and largest city and economic center of Peru; located in western Peru; was capital of the Spanish empire in the New World until the 19th century
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now tell me about it," she said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Now tell me about it," she said.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Now tell me about it," she said.
plural of “shred” — a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
having only essential or minimal features
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading And how did you succeed in getting here?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
express in words
From this reading "Now tell me about it," she said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why did they burn your house?
during the time that
From this reading I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while my girl poured me another cup of coffee.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why did they burn your house?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And how did you succeed in getting here?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why did they burn your house?
Chapter 12 of A Trace of Memory by Keith Laumer holds 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 214 sentences of A Trace of Memory, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of A Trace of Memory by Keith Laumer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 Trace of Memory by Keith Laumer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5506 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51712 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51712, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 458 minutes of reading across 1102 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Trace of Memory section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of A Trace of Memory 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 Trace of Memory, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
