Chapter 12 of How It Happened is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of How It Happened is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"A very happy Christmas!" Van Landing smiled. "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?" At the open door Mother McNeil turned. "She has some shopping to do.
Chapter 12 of How It Happened is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “"A very happy Christmas!"”
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading “"A very happy Christmas!"”
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading “Van Landing smiled.”
To move from a closed position.
From this reading “At the open door Mother McNeil turned.”
searching for or buying goods or services
From this reading “"She has some shopping to do.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Van Landing smiled.”
moved around an axis or center
From this reading “At the open door Mother McNeil turned.”
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading “Van Landing smiled.”
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 "A very happy Christmas!"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the open door Mother McNeil turned.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading "A very happy Christmas!"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "She has some shopping to do.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading At the open door Mother McNeil turned.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading "A very happy Christmas!"
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "She has some shopping to do.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading Van Landing smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
To move from a closed position.
From this reading At the open door Mother McNeil turned.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She has some shopping to do.
searching for or buying goods or services
From this reading "She has some shopping to do.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Van Landing smiled.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "She has some shopping to do.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At the open door Mother McNeil turned.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "She has some shopping to do.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading At the open door Mother McNeil turned.
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading Van Landing smiled.
precisely as stated
From this reading "A very happy Christmas!"
at the time that
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "How can I have it without--When can I see her, Mother McNeil?"
Chapter 12 of How It Happened by Kate Langley Bosher holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 150 sentences of How It Happened, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of How It Happened by Kate Langley Bosher exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 How It Happened by Kate Langley Bosher on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2143 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14723 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14723, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through How It Happened section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of How It Happened 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 How It Happened, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
