Chapter 12 of The Circus Boys Across the Continent is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Circus Boys Across the Continent is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man. Teddy Tucker shook his head. "Why don't you?" "Nobody ever asked me." "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
Chapter 12 of The Circus Boys Across the Continent is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “"Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.”
acting like a clown or buffoon
From this reading “THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.”
any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal
From this reading “THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.”
no person; not anyone
From this reading “"Nobody ever asked me."”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “Teddy Tucker shook his head.”
plaything consisting of a child's toy bear (usually plush and stuffed with soft materials)
From this reading “Teddy Tucker shook his head.”
make an effort or attempt
From this reading “THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.”
United States anarchist influential before World War I (1854-1939)
From this reading “Teddy Tucker shook his head.”
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.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
acting like a clown or buffoon
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why don't you?"
at any time
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Teddy Tucker shook his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Teddy Tucker shook his head.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Nobody ever asked me."
no person; not anyone
From this reading "Nobody ever asked me."
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Teddy Tucker shook his head.
plaything consisting of a child's toy bear (usually plush and stuffed with soft materials)
From this reading Teddy Tucker shook his head.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Then you had better ask the boss to let you try it.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
United States anarchist influential before World War I (1854-1939)
From this reading Teddy Tucker shook his head.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why don't you?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why don't you?"
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading THE HUMAN FOOTBALL "Ever try clowning, young man?" asked the Iron-Jawed Man.
Chapter 12 of The Circus Boys Across the Continent by Edgar B. P. Darlington holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 199 sentences of The Circus Boys Across the Continent, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Circus Boys Across the Continent by Edgar B. P. Darlington exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 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 Circus Boys Across the Continent by Edgar B. P. Darlington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3829 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2475 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2475, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 766 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Circus Boys Across the Continent section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Circus Boys Across the Continent 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 Circus Boys Across the Continent, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
