Chapter 12 of The Fair Rewards is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Fair Rewards is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good. Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.” She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled. “Wish I could sing.... Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
Chapter 12 of The Fair Rewards is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading “She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.”
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
From this reading “Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.””
to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading ““You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.”
a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading “She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.”
a republic on the Pacific coast of Central America
From this reading “She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.”
past form of “sparkle” — reflect brightly
From this reading “She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.”
the sound of light blow or knock
From this reading “She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.”
past form of “tinkle” — make or emit a high sound
From this reading “She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “Wish I could sing....
to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
at any time
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Wish I could sing....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
participate in games or sport
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
a republic on the Pacific coast of Central America
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
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 She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
deliver by singing
From this reading “Wish I could sing....
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
past form of “sparkle” — reflect brightly
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
the sound of light blow or knock
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
past form of “tinkle” — make or emit a high sound
From this reading She tinkled the negro song from “Captain Salvador” tapping one foot so that the silver buckle sparkled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Life is like a--what’s good old life like, Gurdy?”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “Wish I could sing....
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Shan’t ever try to choose another play for you--never, never, never.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’re an old duck,” said Margot, “and I’ll be good.
Chapter 12 of The Fair Rewards by Thomas Beer holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 417 sentences of The Fair Rewards, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Fair Rewards by Thomas Beer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Fair Rewards by Thomas Beer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5833 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60885 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60885, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1167 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fair Rewards section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Fair Rewards 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 Fair Rewards, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
