Chapter 12 of The pelicans is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The pelicans is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Will they know you’re coming?” “I shall telegraph from London.” “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this! What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station? It might quite easily happen.”
Chapter 12 of The pelicans is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?”
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading ““Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!”
come to pass
From this reading “It might quite easily happen.””
concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles
From this reading ““Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading ““Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!”
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading “What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?”
-ing form of “suppose” — express a supposition
From this reading “What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?”
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
From this reading ““I shall telegraph from London.””
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 “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “Will they know you’re coming?”
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading It might quite easily happen.”
all things; all of a situation
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “I shall telegraph from London.”
come to pass
From this reading It might quite easily happen.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I shall telegraph from London.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It might quite easily happen.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Will they know you’re coming?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “I shall telegraph from London.”
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading It might quite easily happen.”
concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading It might quite easily happen.”
express in words
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “I shall telegraph from London.”
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
-ing form of “suppose” — express a supposition
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
From this reading “I shall telegraph from London.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Will they know you’re coming?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Will they know you’re coming?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
but in spite of that
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Will they know you’re coming?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Francie, you say you’re a moral coward, and yet you’ve planned everything out like this!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What would you do supposing you met Cousin Bertie on your way to the station?
Chapter 12 of The pelicans by E. M. Delafield holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 406 sentences of The pelicans, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The pelicans by E. M. Delafield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 pelicans by E. M. Delafield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The pelicans section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The pelicans 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 pelicans, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
