Chapter 12 of Nelson the Newsboy is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Nelson the Newsboy is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY. "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment. The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head. He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene. "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
Chapter 12 of Nelson the Newsboy is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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 cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading “The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.”
past form of “duck” — to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading “The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.”
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading “NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.”
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading “He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.”
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “"I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.”
third-person singular of “recover” — get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading “NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.”
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 “NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.”
In this reading “"Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
past form of “duck” — to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "Billy Darnley!" gasped our hero, in astonishment.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
third-person singular of “recover” — get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.
cut with a saw
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading NELSON RECOVERS SOME MONEY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I didn't t'ink he'd be here so early," he muttered, and pushed to the rear of the crowd.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The bully saw Nelson and instantly ducked his head.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He, too, was after newspapers, but now thought it best to quit the scene.
Chapter 12 of Nelson the Newsboy by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 137 sentences of Nelson the Newsboy, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Nelson the Newsboy by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Nelson the Newsboy by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4553 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54389 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54389, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 379 minutes of reading across 911 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nelson the Newsboy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Nelson the Newsboy 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 Nelson the Newsboy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
