Chapter 12 of Marjorie's Vacation is here in full — 126 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Marjorie's Vacation is here in full — 126 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday." "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old." "My gracious goodness! What an old lady you are getting to be! Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
Chapter 12 of Marjorie's Vacation is here in full — 126 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading “A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."”
behave as expected during of holidays or rites
From this reading “Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.”
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading “"My gracious goodness!”
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading “"My gracious goodness!”
a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
From this reading “A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."”
an event that occurs at a critical time
From this reading “Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.”
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading “A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading “"Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."”
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 BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
behave as expected during of holidays or rites
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading "My gracious goodness!
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading "My gracious goodness!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My gracious goodness!
immediately following in time or order
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
an event that occurs at a critical time
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, now for such an occasion as that we must celebrate in some way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
a late time of life
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, Uncle Steve, and I'll be twelve years old."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What an old lady you are getting to be!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A BIRTHDAY "Mopsy," said Uncle Steve one morning, "I understand that next week Thursday has the honor of being your birthday."
Chapter 12 of Marjorie's Vacation by Carolyn Wells holds 126 sentences, grouped into 26 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 126 sentences of Marjorie's Vacation, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Marjorie's Vacation by Carolyn Wells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 126 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Marjorie's Vacation by Carolyn Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2595 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5271 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5271, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 216 minutes of reading across 519 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Marjorie's Vacation section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Marjorie's Vacation 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 Marjorie's Vacation, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
