Chapter 12 of Steve and the Steam Engine is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Steve and the Steam Engine is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning. It was some yarn." His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup. "It was, wasn't it?" replied he. "And the half was not told then.
Chapter 12 of Steve and the Steam Engine is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading “His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.”
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading “His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.”
plural of “problem” — a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.”
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading “NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.”
the upper part of anything
From this reading “His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.”
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
From this reading “It was some yarn."”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And the half was not told then.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading "And the half was not told then.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It was, wasn't it?" replied he.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was some yarn."
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "And the half was not told then.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
above and across; more than
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
plural of “problem” — a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "It was, wasn't it?" replied he.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It was some yarn."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "And the half was not told then.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the upper part of anything
From this reading His father laughed over the top of his coffee cup.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was some yarn."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It was, wasn't it?" replied he.
during the time that
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
From this reading It was some yarn."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading NEW PROBLEMS "I have been thinking, Dad," said Steve that evening, while they sat at dinner, "of the railroad story you told me this morning.
Chapter 12 of Steve and the Steam Engine by Sara Ware Bassett holds 112 sentences, grouped into 23 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 112 sentences of Steve and the Steam Engine, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Steve and the Steam Engine by Sara Ware Bassett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 112 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 Steve and the Steam Engine by Sara Ware Bassett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3380 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22245 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22245, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 281 minutes of reading across 676 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Steve and the Steam Engine section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Steve and the Steam Engine 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 Steve and the Steam Engine, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
