Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Race is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Race is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE OLD HOPEWELL TUNNEL. "Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring. "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter. Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in! Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Race is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
From this reading “Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!”
a boy or man
From this reading “"That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.”
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading “Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “"That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.”
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “"Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.”
move through by or as by digging
From this reading “THE OLD HOPEWELL TUNNEL.”
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.
at or in the front
In this reading “Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"”
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 "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.
European freshwater game fish with a thick spindle-shaped body
From this reading "Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
a boy or man
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE OLD HOPEWELL TUNNEL.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE OLD HOPEWELL TUNNEL.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading "Well, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.
express a supposition
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE OLD HOPEWELL TUNNEL.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
move through by or as by digging
From this reading THE OLD HOPEWELL TUNNEL.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "That's a nice way to hand a fellow a letter.
(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, great centipedes!" gasped Chub, staring.
at the time that
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why didn't he get a cannon an' shoot it in!
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Suppose one of us had been in front of that window when the mail-wagon came through?"
Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Race by Stanley R. Matthews holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 148 sentences of Motor Matt's Race, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Race by Stanley R. Matthews exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Motor Matt's Race by Stanley R. Matthews on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2349 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47087 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47087, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 195 minutes of reading across 470 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Motor Matt's Race section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Motor Matt's Race 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 Motor Matt's Race, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
