Chapter 12 of Hair-Breadth Escapes is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Hair-Breadth Escapes is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily. "Look here! This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long. Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him. They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
Chapter 12 of Hair-Breadth Escapes is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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 cruelly rapacious person
From this reading “This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “"Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.”
render capable or able for some task
From this reading “They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.”
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading “"Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.”
cause to move by striking
From this reading “This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.”
a large number or amount
From this reading “Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “"Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.”
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading “They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.”
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 “This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.”
thrust or extend out
In this reading “This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
a cruelly rapacious person
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
in a cheerful manner
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
render capable or able for some task
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
divisible by two
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Look here!
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
cause to move by striking
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
and nothing more
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
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 This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Look here!
a large number or amount
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
express in words
From this reading "Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light.
precisely as stated
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This brute is hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold out very long.
Chapter 12 of Hair-Breadth Escapes by H. C. (Henry Cadwallader) Adams holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 417 sentences of Hair-Breadth Escapes, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Hair-Breadth Escapes by H. C. (Henry Cadwallader) Adams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Hair-Breadth Escapes by H. C. (Henry Cadwallader) Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5052 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33304 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33304, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 421 minutes of reading across 1011 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hair-Breadth Escapes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Hair-Breadth Escapes 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 Hair-Breadth Escapes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
