Chapter 12 of Looking Forward is here in full — 52 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Looking Forward is here in full — 52 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
England's Domain in 1999. England Rules Supreme in Africa in 1999. Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent. France Suffers Two Waterloos. England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.
Chapter 12 of Looking Forward is here in full — 52 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading “Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.”
a particular environment or walk of life
From this reading “England's Domain in 1999.”
plural of “engineer” — a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading “Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.”
possessive form of “england” — a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading “England's Domain in 1999.”
plural of “railroad” — line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading “Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.”
third-person singular of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading “France Suffers Two Waterloos.”
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading “England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.”
unshaken in purpose
From this reading “England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.”
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.
the century from 1901 to 2000
In this reading “England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading England's Domain in 1999.
the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
From this reading England Rules Supreme in Africa in 1999.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
a period of 100 years
From this reading England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
provide with a covering or cause to be covered
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
a particular environment or walk of life
From this reading England's Domain in 1999.
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
plural of “engineer” — a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading England Rules Supreme in Africa in 1999.
possessive form of “england” — a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading England's Domain in 1999.
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading France Suffers Two Waterloos.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading England's Domain in 1999.
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.
plural of “railroad” — line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.
plural of “rule” — a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading England Rules Supreme in Africa in 1999.
third-person singular of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading France Suffers Two Waterloos.
final or last in your life or progress
From this reading England Rules Supreme in Africa in 1999.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Electric Railroads Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent.
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading France Suffers Two Waterloos.
unshaken in purpose
From this reading England's Rule in India Unshaken in the Twentieth Century.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading France Suffers Two Waterloos.
Chapter 12 of Looking Forward by Arthur Bird holds 52 sentences, grouped into 11 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 52 sentences of Looking Forward, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Looking Forward by Arthur Bird exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 52 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 Looking Forward by Arthur Bird on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50148 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50148, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 190 minutes of reading across 458 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Looking Forward section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Looking Forward 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 Looking Forward, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
