Chapter 12 of Sylvie and Bruno is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Sylvie and Bruno is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety. “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority. “Why at once?” said the Professor. “Because he can't go at twice,” said the Other Professor. The Professor gently clapped his hands.
Chapter 12 of Sylvie and Bruno is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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 living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading ““The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.”
(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 “The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.”
the power or right to give orders or make decisions
From this reading ““The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.”
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading “The Professor gently clapped his hands.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “The Professor gently clapped his hands.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.”
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading “The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.”
small or little relative to something else
From this reading ““The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
(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 The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
the power or right to give orders or make decisions
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
for the reason that
From this reading “Because he can't go at twice,” said the Other Professor.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Because he can't go at twice,” said the Other Professor.
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading The Professor gently clapped his hands.
in a gradual manner
From this reading The Professor gently clapped his hands.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The Professor gently clapped his hands.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Professor gently clapped his hands.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
on one occasion
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
small or little relative to something else
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
two times
From this reading “Because he can't go at twice,” said the Other Professor.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why at once?” said the Professor.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety.
Chapter 12 of Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 202 sentences of Sylvie and Bruno, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4359 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #620 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #620, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 363 minutes of reading across 872 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sylvie and Bruno section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Sylvie and Bruno 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 Sylvie and Bruno, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
