Chapter 12 of May Fair is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of May Fair is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well. Lamoir would not be Lamoir without that gesture. Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture. It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain. It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.
Chapter 12 of May Fair is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.”
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading “It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.”
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.”
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading “She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.”
held dear
From this reading “She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.”
qualities that attract by seeming to promise some kind of reward
From this reading “It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.”
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading “Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.”
an instance of visual perception
From this reading “Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.”
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.
In this reading “Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.”
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 It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Lamoir would not be Lamoir without that gesture.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lamoir would not be Lamoir without that gesture.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.
held dear
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
qualities that attract by seeming to promise some kind of reward
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
engage in
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Lamoir would not be Lamoir without that gesture.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading It was as though she was afraid of her love for him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Always, at first sight of him returning to her, she would make that gesture.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
(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 She made that gesture he knew so well, loved so well.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was delicious with a lure which he never could explain.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Lamoir would not be Lamoir without that gesture.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Lamoir would not be Lamoir without that gesture.
Chapter 12 of May Fair by Michael Arlen holds 379 sentences, grouped into 76 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 379 sentences of May Fair, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of May Fair by Michael Arlen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 379 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 May Fair by Michael Arlen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through May Fair section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of May Fair 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 May Fair, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
