Chapter 12 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in. "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know. Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long." She was looking fondly down at him. "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
Chapter 12 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
past form of “chime” — emit a sound
From this reading “"Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.”
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “"But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.”
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “"I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.”
your parents
From this reading “"But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.”
with fondness; with love
From this reading “She was looking fondly down at him.”
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading “"Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.”
plural of “storm” — a violent weather condition with winds 64-72 knots (11 on the Beaufort scale) and precipitation and thunder and lightning
From this reading “"Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.”
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading “"I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.”
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.
belong to an earlier time
In this reading “Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."”
In this reading “"I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.”
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 "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She was looking fondly down at him.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
past form of “chime” — emit a sound
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She was looking fondly down at him.
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
your parents
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
with fondness; with love
From this reading She was looking fondly down at him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She was looking fondly down at him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She was looking fondly down at him.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
plural of “storm” — a violent weather condition with winds 64-72 knots (11 on the Beaufort scale) and precipitation and thunder and lightning
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Though we hope--we expect--to go back home before long."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was looking fondly down at him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, if it wasn't for the sand storms!" she chimed in.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I had a little trouble with my throat," he explained depreciatively.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But we love the country, and the folks, too; they seem so much a part of the out of doors, you know.
Chapter 12 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 395 sentences of Short stories from Life, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson 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 Short stories from Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Short stories from Life 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 Short stories from Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
