Chapter 12 of Life on the Mississippi is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Life on the Mississippi is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas. So I began to think about my errand there. Time, noonday; and bright and sunny. This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand. The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
Chapter 12 of Life on the Mississippi is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.”
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading “A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.”
a state in south central United States; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War
From this reading “A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.”
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading “So I began to think about my errand there.”
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading “A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.”
more readily or willingly
From this reading “This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.”
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading “Time, noonday; and bright and sunny.”
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 Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
a state in south central United States; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Time, noonday; and bright and sunny.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
the middle of the day
From this reading Time, noonday; and bright and sunny.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
more readily or willingly
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading Time, noonday; and bright and sunny.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
in or at that place or location
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Time, noonday; and bright and sunny.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading So I began to think about my errand there.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The more I thought, the more that fact pushed itself upon me--now in one form, now in another.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was bad--not best, anyway; for mine was not (preferably) a noonday kind of errand.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading A Thumb-print and What Came of It WE were approaching Napoleon, Arkansas.
Chapter 12 of Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 414 sentences of Life on the Mississippi, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6352 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #245 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #245, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 529 minutes of reading across 1271 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Life on the Mississippi section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Life on the Mississippi 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 Life on the Mississippi, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
