Chapter 12 of Quinneys' is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Quinneys' is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Elegant!" He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm. It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary. He racked his brains for the right words which came. Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
Chapter 12 of Quinneys' is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
plural of “brain” — that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading “He racked his brains for the right words which came.”
plural of “demand” — an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.”
refined and tasteful in appearance or behavior or style
From this reading “"Elegant!"”
such that comparison is impossible; unsuitable for comparison or lacking features that can be compared
From this reading “Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."”
beyond normal limits
From this reading “It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.”
past form of “rack” — go at a rack
From this reading “He racked his brains for the right words which came.”
a district that is reserved for particular purpose
From this reading “Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."”
a listing of the words used in some enterprise
From this reading “It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.”
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 “He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.”
In this reading “He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
plural of “brain” — that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
plural of “demand” — an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
refined and tasteful in appearance or behavior or style
From this reading "Elegant!"
a feeling of excitement
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
such that comparison is impossible; unsuitable for comparison or lacking features that can be compared
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
beyond normal limits
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
past form of “rack” — go at a rack
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
a district that is reserved for particular purpose
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
precisely, exactly
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
in a grave and sedate manner
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
precisely as stated
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
a listing of the words used in some enterprise
From this reading It made inordinate demands upon his vocabulary.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He glanced at the beautiful room with enthusiasm.
the words that are spoken
From this reading He racked his brains for the right words which came.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Very solemnly, he observed: "You have here, Mr. Quinney, an incomparable reservation."
Chapter 12 of Quinneys' by Horace Annesley Vachell holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Quinneys', unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Quinneys' by Horace Annesley Vachell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Quinneys' by Horace Annesley Vachell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6628 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50596 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50596, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 552 minutes of reading across 1326 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Quinneys' section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Quinneys' 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 Quinneys', each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
