Chapter 12 of Backlog Studies is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Backlog Studies is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OUR NEXT DOOR. Probably he's consul somewhere. They mostly are. THE FIRE-TENDER. After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
Chapter 12 of Backlog Studies is here in full — 169 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 diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country
From this reading “Probably he's consul somewhere.”
superlative of “easy” — posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.”
plural of “eccentricity” — strange and unconventional behavior
From this reading “After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.”
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading “They mostly are.”
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading “Probably he's consul somewhere.”
be seated
From this reading “After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.”
express through a scornful smile
From this reading “After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.”
in or at or to some place
From this reading “Probably he's consul somewhere.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
(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 After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They mostly are.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
a diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country
From this reading Probably he's consul somewhere.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading OUR NEXT DOOR.
superlative of “easy” — posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
plural of “eccentricity” — strange and unconventional behavior
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FIRE-TENDER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Probably he's consul somewhere.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading They mostly are.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading OUR NEXT DOOR.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading OUR NEXT DOOR.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Probably he's consul somewhere.
be seated
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
express through a scornful smile
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
in or at or to some place
From this reading Probably he's consul somewhere.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FIRE-TENDER.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They mostly are.
a special situation
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading After all, it's the easiest thing in the world to sit and sneer at eccentricities.
Chapter 12 of Backlog Studies by Charles Dudley Warner holds 169 sentences, grouped into 34 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 169 sentences of Backlog Studies, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Backlog Studies by Charles Dudley Warner exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 169 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 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 Backlog Studies by Charles Dudley Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2520 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3134 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3134, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 210 minutes of reading across 504 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Backlog Studies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Backlog Studies 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 Backlog Studies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
