Chapter 12 of Cynthia is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Cynthia is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?" "No, sir; I haven't heard from them." "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably. "Damn nonsense! How long have they had the thing now?"
Chapter 12 of Cynthia is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
used as expletives
From this reading “"Damn nonsense!”
let fall to the ground
From this reading “"You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.”
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “"You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.”
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading “"Damn nonsense!”
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading “"Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"”
plural of “publisher” — a firm in the publishing business
From this reading “"Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"”
a special situation
From this reading “How long have they had the thing now?"”
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading “"Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"”
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.
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 "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
used as expletives
From this reading "Damn nonsense!
let fall to the ground
From this reading "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
in a petulant manner
From this reading "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
not any; not one
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading "Damn nonsense!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
plural of “publisher” — a firm in the publishing business
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
term of address for a man
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "No, sir; I haven't heard from them."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
a special situation
From this reading How long have they had the thing now?"
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You should drop them a line," said Walford irritably.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
but in spite of that
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading "Well, have those publishers of yours made you an offer yet?"
Chapter 12 of Cynthia by Leonard Merrick holds 203 sentences, grouped into 41 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 203 sentences of Cynthia, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Cynthia by Leonard Merrick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 203 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Cynthia by Leonard Merrick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4698 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44465 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44465, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 391 minutes of reading across 940 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cynthia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Cynthia 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 Cynthia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
