Chapter 12 of The Bat is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Bat is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia. “It’s horrible!” The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her. He listened anxiously for a moment. “I don’t hear anything,” he said.
Chapter 12 of The Bat is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “He listened anxiously for a moment.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.”
-ing form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.”
an insignificant place
From this reading “CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.”
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading “The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.”
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 He listened anxiously for a moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading He listened anxiously for a moment.
any thing at all
From this reading “I don’t hear anything,” he said.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t hear anything,” he said.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He listened anxiously for a moment.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
-ing form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He listened anxiously for a moment.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “I don’t hear anything,” he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
provoking horror
From this reading “It’s horrible!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t hear anything,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s horrible!”
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading He listened anxiously for a moment.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
a particular point in time
From this reading He listened anxiously for a moment.
an insignificant place
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I don’t hear anything,” he said.
a person, without saying who
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CHAPTER TEN THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE “Somebody groaning!” gasped Miss Cornelia.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The detective stepped up and took the receiver from her.
Chapter 12 of The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét holds 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 215 sentences of The Bat, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benét on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4997 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2019 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2019, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 416 minutes of reading across 1000 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Bat 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 The Bat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
