Chapter 12 of Bliss, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Bliss, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Have another glass of wine, Peacock.” “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home. But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away. He turned up the light in the bedroom. His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
Chapter 12 of Bliss, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
flow back or recede
From this reading “But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.”
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
From this reading “But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.”
-ing form of “lift” — raise from a lower to a higher position
From this reading ““I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.”
European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
From this reading ““Have another glass of wine, Peacock.””
extremely
From this reading ““I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.”
past form of “squeeze” — to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading “His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.”
so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
From this reading ““I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.”
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.
flow back or recede
In this reading “But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.”
In this reading “His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.”
In this reading “But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.”
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 “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “Have another glass of wine, Peacock.”
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
in a state of sleep
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading He turned up the light in the bedroom.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
flow back or recede
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “Have another glass of wine, Peacock.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Have another glass of wine, Peacock.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He turned up the light in the bedroom.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
-ing form of “lift” — raise from a lower to a higher position
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading He turned up the light in the bedroom.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Have another glass of wine, Peacock.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
above and across; more than
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
From this reading “Have another glass of wine, Peacock.”
extremely
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
past form of “squeeze” — to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I could have any one I liked by lifting a finger,” thought Peacock, positively staggering home.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But as he let himself into the dark flat his marvellous sense of elation began to ebb away.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned up the light in the bedroom.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He turned up the light in the bedroom.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading His wife lay asleep, squeezed over to her side of the bed.
fermented juice (of grapes especially)
From this reading “Have another glass of wine, Peacock.”
Chapter 12 of Bliss, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of Bliss, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Bliss, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Bliss, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6345 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44385 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44385, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 528 minutes of reading across 1269 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bliss, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Bliss, and Other Stories 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 Bliss, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
