Chapter 12 of The City of Comrades is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The City of Comrades is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She was successful in that. Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure. “No; that isn’t what I was going to say. I don’t know how things would have been. I suppose they would have been as—as they are now.”
Chapter 12 of The City of Comrades is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
a barrier set up by police to stop traffic on a street or road in order to catch a fugitive or inspect traffic etc.
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
steadiness of mind under stress
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
a gap between cloud masses
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
continuously varying
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
From this reading “She was successful in that.”
an involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear)
From this reading “Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.”
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.
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I suppose they would have been as—as they are now.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I suppose they would have been as—as they are now.”
a barrier set up by police to stop traffic on a street or road in order to catch a fugitive or inspect traffic etc.
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
steadiness of mind under stress
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
the act of departing
From this reading “No; that isn’t what I was going to say.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She was successful in that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No; that isn’t what I was going to say.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
not any; not one
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I suppose they would have been as—as they are now.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
a gap between cloud masses
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
cut with a saw
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
express in words
From this reading “No; that isn’t what I was going to say.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was successful in that.
continuously varying
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
From this reading She was successful in that.
express a supposition
From this reading I suppose they would have been as—as they are now.”
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She was successful in that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I suppose they would have been as—as they are now.”
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “No; that isn’t what I was going to say.
an involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear)
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Apart from the shifting surface fire of her eyes and the slightest possible tremor in her voice I saw no rift in the barricade of her composure.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was successful in that.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “No; that isn’t what I was going to say.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I don’t know how things would have been.
Chapter 12 of The City of Comrades by Basil King holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 408 sentences of The City of Comrades, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The City of Comrades by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 City of Comrades by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7357 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1472 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The City of Comrades section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The City of Comrades 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 City of Comrades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
