Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'No! No!' Henry was sputtering. He appeared to be struggling. 'Life means work to me.
Henry Is Twenty
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
English subtitles · tap any word to listen
1 / 5
'No!
No!'
Henry
was
sputtering.
He
appeared
to
be
struggling.
'Life
means
work
to
me.
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Henry Is Twenty
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Line 1
'No!
/noʊ/
Line 2
No!'
/noʊ/
Line 3
Henry
was
sputtering.
/ˈhenri wɑːz ˈspʌtərɪŋ/
Line 4
He
appeared
to
be
struggling.
/hiː əˈpɪrd tuː biː ˈstrʌɡəlɪŋ/
Line 5
'Life
means
work
to
me.
/laɪf miːnz wɜːrk tuː miː/
Learner Dictionary
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.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “He appeared to be struggling.”
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading “Henry was sputtering.”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “'Life means work to me.”
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading “'Life means work to me.”
sputtering
noun
US /ˈspʌtərɪŋ/
the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively
From this reading “Henry was sputtering.”
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading “He appeared to be struggling.”
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “'Life means work to me.”
Word partnerships in these lines
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.
All words in this reading · 13
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.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He appeared to be struggling.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He appeared to be struggling.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He appeared to be struggling.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading Henry was sputtering.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading 'Life means work to me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'Life means work to me.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading 'Life means work to me.
not any; not one
From this reading 'No!
sputteringnounUS /ˈspʌtərɪŋ/
the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively
From this reading Henry was sputtering.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading He appeared to be struggling.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He appeared to be struggling.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Henry was sputtering.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading 'Life means work to me.
Chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty by Samuel Merwin holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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.
What does chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty contain?
Chapter 12 holds 399 sentences of Henry Is Twenty, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty by Samuel Merwin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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.
How do I study chapter 12 of Henry Is Twenty?
Work through the 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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.
Can chapter 12 be read aloud to me?
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.
Questions about reading Henry Is Twenty
Common questions about reading Henry Is Twenty by Samuel Merwin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of Henry Is Twenty?
Yes. All 8391 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51948 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of Henry Is Twenty is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #51948, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does Henry Is Twenty take to read?
About 600 minutes of reading across 1679 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read Henry Is Twenty section by section
How to work through Henry Is Twenty section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Henry Is Twenty to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in Henry Is Twenty
Words and structures a reader meets early in Henry Is Twenty, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Further
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Henry Is Twenty; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Episodic
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Henry Is Twenty; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- History
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Henry Is Twenty; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Henry
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Henry Is Twenty; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.