Chapter 12 of The Passport is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Passport is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!" "Ah!" observed Monsieur d’Antin. "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous." *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone. The princess had been invisible most of the day.
Chapter 12 of The Passport is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
deserving of the highest esteem or admiration
From this reading “"It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."”
(usually followed by “to”) naturally disposed toward
From this reading “"It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."”
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading “*XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.”
the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit
From this reading “"It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."”
impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye
From this reading “The princess had been invisible most of the day.”
tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
From this reading “"It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “"Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!"”
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading “"It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."”
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 “"It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."”
In this reading “*XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
deserving of the highest esteem or admiration
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah!" observed Monsieur d’Antin.
Having no one else present.
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!"
(usually followed by “to”) naturally disposed toward
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The princess had been invisible most of the day.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah!" observed Monsieur d’Antin.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The princess had been invisible most of the day.
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye
From this reading The princess had been invisible most of the day.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading "Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The princess had been invisible most of the day.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "Ah!" observed Monsieur d’Antin.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading "Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!"
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading "Precisely, monsieur—and patience, always patience!"
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading The princess had been invisible most of the day.
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
capital and largest city of Italy; on the Tiber; seat of the Roman Catholic Church; formerly the capital of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It is an admirable quality—but the exercising of it is apt to become monotonous."
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-four and one
From this reading *XXV* The evening before Monsieur d’Antin’s return to Montefiano from Rome, Bianca Acorari had dined alone.
Chapter 12 of The Passport by Richard Bagot holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 414 sentences of The Passport, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Passport by Richard Bagot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Passport by Richard Bagot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6897 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46693 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46693, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 574 minutes of reading across 1380 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Passport section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Passport 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 Passport, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
