Chapter 12 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 459 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 459 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve. They had what she called a plain talk. "Listen, Jo. They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker. And I'm going to take it.
Chapter 12 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 459 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
to come to rest, settle
From this reading “Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.”
a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.”
an alert and refreshed state
From this reading “Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.”
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading “They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.”
resembling or made to resemble leather; tough but pliable
From this reading “Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.”
living in a particular place
From this reading “They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.”
bring to an end; settle conclusively
From this reading “Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.”
a person who works at a specific occupation
From this reading “They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.”
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 Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
to come to rest, settle
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
an alert and refreshed state
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
the act of departing
From this reading And I'm going to take it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I'm going to take it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And I'm going to take it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Listen, Jo.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
resembling or made to resemble leather; tough but pliable
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
hear with intention
From this reading "Listen, Jo.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
living in a particular place
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
bring to an end; settle conclusively
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
carry out
From this reading And I'm going to take it.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And I'm going to take it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading They had what she called a plain talk.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then, one night, Carrie came home with a dull glow in her leathery cheeks, and her eyes alight with resolve.
a person who works at a specific occupation
From this reading They've offered me the job of first assistant resident worker.
Chapter 12 of The best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 459 sentences, grouped into 92 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 459 sentences of The best short stories of 1917, and, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 459 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 18263 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20872 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20872, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3653 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1917, and section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The best short stories of 1917, and 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 best short stories of 1917, and, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
