Chapter 12 of The Boy with Wings is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Boy with Wings is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass. He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe. All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her. "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile. "I didn't know it was _you_!"
Chapter 12 of The Boy with Wings is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading “All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.”
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading “He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.”
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading “THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.”
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading “All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.”
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading “All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.”
footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
From this reading “He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.”
the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
From this reading “He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.”
inflected form of “withhold” — hold back; refuse to hand over or share
From this reading “THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.”
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.
In this reading “All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.”
In this reading “He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.”
In this reading “He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
(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 All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
on or to one side
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I didn't know it was _you_!"
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I didn't know it was _you_!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I didn't know it was _you_!"
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I didn't know it was _you_!"
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
go across or through
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading "_Hullo_!" exclaimed Paul Dampier, with real surprise in his smile.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading He stopped--Gwenna felt the touch of his finger on the silver tip of her shoe.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I didn't know it was _you_!"
which person or people
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading All a-tremble with delight she moved aside, and stepped from behind the screen to face the partner who had chosen her.
inflected form of “withhold” — hold back; refuse to hand over or share
From this reading THE KISS WITHHELD He did not pass.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I didn't know it was _you_!"
Chapter 12 of The Boy with Wings by Berta Ruck holds 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 253 sentences of The Boy with Wings, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Boy with Wings by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 Boy with Wings by Berta Ruck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6451 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36223 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36223, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 537 minutes of reading across 1291 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy with Wings section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Boy with Wings 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 Boy with Wings, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
