Chapter 12 of The Burning Spear is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Burning Spear is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“At one.” “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.” At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach. “Noc?” he said. “No,” replied the young German.
Chapter 12 of The Burning Spear is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 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.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading ““You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.””
a person who seeks the advice of a lawyer
From this reading ““You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.””
a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body
From this reading “At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.”
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading “At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.”
a person of German nationality
From this reading ““You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.””
of a pale purple color
From this reading “At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.”
an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation
From this reading “At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.”
an enlarged and muscular saclike organ of the alimentary canal; the principal organ of digestion
From this reading “At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.”
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 At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “At one.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
a person who seeks the advice of a lawyer
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
a person of German nationality
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
of a pale purple color
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
staying power
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
a form of address for a man
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
not any; not one
From this reading “No,” replied the young German.
an undercover agent who is given no official cover
From this reading “Noc?” he said.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “At one.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “No,” replied the young German.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
term of address for a man
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
an enlarged and muscular saclike organ of the alimentary canal; the principal organ of digestion
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
the words that are spoken
From this reading At those words Mr. Lavender experienced a sensation as if his soul were creeping back up his legs; he spoke as it reached his stomach.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “You are my first client this week, sir,” said the young German calmly, “but I cannot that dooth dake out.”
Chapter 12 of The Burning Spear by John Galsworthy holds 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 200 sentences of The Burning Spear, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Burning Spear by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Burning Spear by John Galsworthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2838 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2905 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2905, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 236 minutes of reading across 568 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Burning Spear section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Burning Spear 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 Burning Spear, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
