Chapter 12 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“And you?” “Oh, I? I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.” “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly. “Probable even.
Chapter 12 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a man who has never been married
From this reading “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
small farmers and tenants
From this reading “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
likely but not certain to be or become true or real
From this reading ““Probable even.”
with speed
From this reading ““Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.”
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
a gesture involving the shoulders
From this reading “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
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 “I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.””
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 I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And you?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
a man who has never been married
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
small farmers and tenants
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
divisible by two
From this reading “Probable even.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, I?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
not any; not one
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, I?
capable of happening or existing
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
likely but not certain to be or become true or real
From this reading “Probable even.
with speed
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
a gesture involving the shoulders
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Is that possible?” she said, looking at him quickly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I’m a bachelor,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, “and if I come a cropper it makes no difference.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “And you?”
Chapter 12 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools by Frederick Houk [Editor] Law holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 407 sentences of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools by Frederick Houk [Editor] Law exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools by Frederick Houk [Editor] Law on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6555 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62942 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62942, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 546 minutes of reading across 1311 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools 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 Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
