Chapter 12 of Tales of Unrest is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Tales of Unrest is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired. Only one. Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah. They were both startled. As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
Chapter 12 of Tales of Unrest is here in full — 201 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.
having lost your job
From this reading “In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.”
with relatively high volume
From this reading “In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.”
in motion
From this reading “As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.”
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading “As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.”
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading “In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “They were both startled.”
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading “In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.”
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 In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
the two together, not just one
From this reading They were both startled.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
having lost your job
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
with relatively high volume
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
in motion
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Only one.
and nothing more
From this reading Only one.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
cut with a saw
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading They were both startled.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were both startled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading Carlier ran out and met Kayerts on the verandah.
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the middle of the night, Carlier waking suddenly, heard a man shout loudly; then a shot was fired.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were both startled.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading As they went across the yard to call Makola, they saw shadows moving in the night.
Chapter 12 of Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad holds 201 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 201 sentences of Tales of Unrest, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 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 Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4154 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1202 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1202, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 831 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of Unrest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Tales of Unrest 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 Unrest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
