Chapter 12 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment. He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength. "Oh, save me!" he gasped. "Hurry up, sir! Take me away--before they come back!"
Chapter 12 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.”
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Oh, save me!" he gasped.”
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading “He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.”
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading “He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.”
plural of “walk” — the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
be restored
In this reading “Take me away--before they come back!"”
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 BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Take me away--before they come back!"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Take me away--before they come back!"
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Take me away--before they come back!"
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Take me away--before they come back!"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Oh, save me!" he gasped.
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading "Hurry up, sir!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Oh, save me!" he gasped.
a particular point in time
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, save me!" he gasped.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
except for; apart from
From this reading "Oh, save me!" he gasped.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Hurry up, sir!
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
carry out
From this reading Take me away--before they come back!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Take me away--before they come back!"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Hurry up, sir!
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
plural of “walk” — the act of traveling by foot
From this reading BILLY WALKS IN HIS SLEEP Redisham did not pause a moment.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He flung himself forward, grasped the amazed master round the waist, and held on with all his strength.
Chapter 12 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys by Andrew H. Walpole holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 154 sentences of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys by Andrew H. Walpole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Black Star: A School Story for Boys by Andrew H. Walpole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Star: A School Story for Boys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Black Star: A School Story for Boys 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 Black Star: A School Story for Boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
