Chapter 12 of The Fire Trumpet is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Fire Trumpet is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lilian broke into a peal of laughter. "How absurd you are! You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings. But is that really what they were saying?" "It is, upon my word.
Chapter 12 of The Fire Trumpet is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading “"How absurd you are!”
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading “You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.”
lacking funds
From this reading “Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.”
completely ordinary and unremarkable
From this reading “You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.”
a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells)
From this reading “Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.”
literature in metrical form
From this reading “You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.”
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.
In this reading “Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.”
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 Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading "How absurd you are!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "How absurd you are!
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
lacking funds
From this reading Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
completely ordinary and unremarkable
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How absurd you are!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is, upon my word.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It is, upon my word.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells)
From this reading Lilian broke into a peal of laughter.
literature in metrical form
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "It is, upon my word.
precisely as stated
From this reading You have quite taken the poetry out of them, and now they look like a very commonplace lot of beings.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading But is that really what they were saying?"
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading "It is, upon my word.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How absurd you are!
Chapter 12 of The Fire Trumpet by Bertram Mitford holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Fire Trumpet, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Fire Trumpet by Bertram Mitford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Fire Trumpet by Bertram Mitford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13630 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36592 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36592, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fire Trumpet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Fire Trumpet 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 Fire Trumpet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
