Chapter 12 of The secret spring is here in full — 403 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 secret spring is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"They fired at us," said Aurora. "We must be getting near the frontier. We must be a little more careful now." I looked at the compass. We were going due west.
Chapter 12 of The secret spring is here in full — 403 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.
the first light of day
From this reading “"They fired at us," said Aurora.”
exercising caution or showing care or attention
From this reading “We must be a little more careful now."”
navigational instrument for finding directions
From this reading “I looked at the compass.”
owed and payable immediately or on demand
From this reading “We were going due west.”
having lost your job
From this reading “"They fired at us," said Aurora.”
a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
From this reading “"We must be getting near the frontier.”
the act of acquiring something
From this reading “"We must be getting near the frontier.”
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading “We were going due west.”
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.
the cardinal compass point that is a 270 degrees
In this reading “We were going due west.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “I looked at the compass.”
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 We must be a little more careful now."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "They fired at us," said Aurora.
the first light of day
From this reading "They fired at us," said Aurora.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
exercising caution or showing care or attention
From this reading We must be a little more careful now."
navigational instrument for finding directions
From this reading I looked at the compass.
owed and payable immediately or on demand
From this reading We were going due west.
having lost your job
From this reading "They fired at us," said Aurora.
a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
the act of departing
From this reading We were going due west.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I looked at the compass.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading We must be a little more careful now."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I looked at the compass.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading We must be a little more careful now."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading We must be a little more careful now."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "They fired at us," said Aurora.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They fired at us," said Aurora.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "They fired at us," said Aurora.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We must be getting near the frontier.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were going due west.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading We were going due west.
Chapter 12 of The secret spring by Pierre Benoît holds 403 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 403 sentences of The secret spring, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The secret spring by Pierre Benoît exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 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 secret spring by Pierre Benoît 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 secret spring section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The secret spring 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 secret spring, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
