Chapter 12 of Sir Tom is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Sir Tom is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON BUSINESS. Ten thousand pounds! These words have very different meanings to different people. Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain. They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
Chapter 12 of Sir Tom is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 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.
payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military
From this reading “They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.”
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.”
include or contain; have as a component
From this reading “Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.”
enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading “They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.”
the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)
From this reading “They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.”
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading “They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.”
plural of “meaning” — the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading “These words have very different meanings to different people.”
plural of “syllable” — a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme
From this reading “Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.”
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.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and one thousand
In this reading “Ten thousand pounds!”
In this reading “These words have very different meanings to different people.”
In this reading “ON BUSINESS.”
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 They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
(psychiatry) a relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading ON BUSINESS.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
include or contain; have as a component
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the state or fact of existing
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
plural of “meaning” — the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON BUSINESS.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading Ten thousand pounds!
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
plural of “syllable” — a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Ten thousand pounds!
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They enclose as in a golden casket, rest, freedom from care, bounty, kindness, an easy existence, and an ending free of anxiety to many.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading Ten thousand pounds!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
precisely as stated
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Many of us can form little idea of what those simple syllables contain.
the words that are spoken
From this reading These words have very different meanings to different people.
Chapter 12 of Sir Tom by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 396 sentences of Sir Tom, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Sir Tom by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Sir Tom by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9204 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30692 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30692, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1841 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sir Tom section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Sir Tom 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 Sir Tom, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
