Chapter 12 of The Oyster is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Oyster is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I fear it is unlikely, Madame. I am very sorry." Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him. "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly. Esme flushed scarlet.
Chapter 12 of The Oyster is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/102 · 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.
(usually followed by “of”) having capacity or ability
From this reading “Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.”
get or ask advice from
From this reading “Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.”
a woman who is a native or inhabitant of England
From this reading “Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.”
having the pinkish flush of health
From this reading “Esme flushed scarlet.”
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
From this reading “"The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.”
a variable color that is vivid red but sometimes with an orange tinge
From this reading “Esme flushed scarlet.”
with respect to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading “Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.”
not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
From this reading “"I fear it is unlikely, Madame.”
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 “Esme flushed scarlet.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am very sorry."
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
(usually followed by “of”) having capacity or ability
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
a young person of either sex
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
get or ask advice from
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
a woman who is a native or inhabitant of England
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Esme flushed scarlet.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading "I fear it is unlikely, Madame.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
having the pinkish flush of health
From this reading Esme flushed scarlet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I fear it is unlikely, Madame.
of great significance or value
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I fear it is unlikely, Madame.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I fear it is unlikely, Madame.
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading "I fear it is unlikely, Madame.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
a variable color that is vivid red but sometimes with an orange tinge
From this reading Esme flushed scarlet.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading I am very sorry."
with respect to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "The child died, then, Madame--that another is so important?" he asked kindly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
From this reading "I fear it is unlikely, Madame.
precisely as stated
From this reading I am very sorry."
which person or people
From this reading Dr Legrand put his capable finger-tips together, looked sympathetically at the tall, golden-haired Englishwoman who had come to consult him.
Chapter 12 of The Oyster by Peer holds 513 sentences, grouped into 103 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 513 sentences of The Oyster, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Oyster by Peer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 513 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 Oyster by Peer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6910 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35217, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 575 minutes of reading across 1382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Oyster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Oyster 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 Oyster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
