Chapter 12 of Tales of a Traveller is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Tales of a Traveller is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily. The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them. His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration. “We’re discovered!” cried one. “Down with him!” cried another.
Chapter 12 of Tales of a Traveller is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading “His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.”
an association of criminals
From this reading “The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.”
against your will
From this reading ““The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.”
plural of “murderer” — a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading ““The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.”
plural of “orbit” — the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another
From this reading “His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.”
salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
From this reading “His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.”
the human face (“kisser” and “smiler” and “mug” are informal terms for “face” and “phiz” is British)
From this reading “His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “Down with him!” cried another.
inflected form of “behold” — see with attention
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “We’re discovered!” cried one.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “We’re discovered!” cried one.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “Down with him!” cried another.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
an association of criminals
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Down with him!” cried another.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
against your will
From this reading “The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.
and nothing more
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
plural of “murderer” — a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading “The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “We’re discovered!” cried one.
plural of “orbit” — the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
lacking natural ease
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The murderers!” exclaimed Sam involuntarily.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
the human face (“kisser” and “smiler” and “mug” are informal terms for “face” and “phiz” is British)
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’re discovered!” cried one.
a Caucasian
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His white eyes strained half out of their orbits; his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.
Chapter 12 of Tales of a Traveller by Washington Irving holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 402 sentences of Tales of a Traveller, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Tales of a Traveller by Washington Irving exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Tales of a Traveller by Washington Irving on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4965 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13514 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13514, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 413 minutes of reading across 993 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of a Traveller section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Tales of a Traveller 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 Tales of a Traveller, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
