Chapter 12 of The desire of the moth is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The desire of the moth is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_." Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well. His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity. The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness. "This won't do, my boy--this won't do.
Chapter 12 of The desire of the moth is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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.
the use of brief expressions
From this reading “His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.”
past form of “chide” — censure severely or angrily
From this reading “The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.”
like or befitting a father or fatherhood; kind and protective
From this reading “The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.”
past form of “lunch” — take the midday meal
From this reading “Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.”
possessive form of “mitchell” — English aeronautical engineer (1895-1937)
From this reading “Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.”
slow and laborious because of weight
From this reading “His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.”
sharply exact or accurate or delimited
From this reading “Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.”
in a wise manner
From this reading “Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.”
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.
matters of personal concern
From this reading The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
a youthful male person
From this reading "This won't do, my boy--this won't do.
the use of brief expressions
From this reading His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
past form of “chide” — censure severely or angrily
From this reading The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "This won't do, my boy--this won't do.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
like or befitting a father or fatherhood; kind and protective
From this reading The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic
From this reading The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.
for more time
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
past form of “lunch” — take the midday meal
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man of affairs chided him with fatherly kindness.
possessive form of “mitchell” — English aeronautical engineer (1895-1937)
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
slow and laborious because of weight
From this reading His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.
sharply exact or accurate or delimited
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
on the contrary
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
comparative of “strong” — having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_If the bowl had been stronger My tale had been longer_."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This won't do, my boy--this won't do.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
the property of being upright in posture
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His speech, too, was of ponderous brevity.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
which person or people
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
in a wise manner
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Steve entered Mitchell's office with the painful uprightness and precise carriage of one who has lunched not wisely but rather too well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "This won't do, my boy--this won't do.
Chapter 12 of The desire of the moth by Eugene Manlove Rhodes holds 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 360 sentences of The desire of the moth, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The desire of the moth by Eugene Manlove Rhodes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The desire of the moth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
