Chapter 12 of The Top of the World is here in full — 281 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Top of the World is here in full — 281 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west. To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief. "Come for a ride!" said Burke. She shook her head. "No, thank you.
Chapter 12 of The Top of the World is here in full — 281 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each
From this reading “THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.”
uttered without voice
From this reading “To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.”
British statesman famous for his oratory; pleaded the cause of the American colonists in British Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)
From this reading “"Come for a ride!" said Burke.”
well in the past; former
From this reading “To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.”
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading “To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.”
producing exhaustion
From this reading “To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.”
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading “To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.”
plural of “visitor” — someone who visits
From this reading “THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.”
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 To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
uttered without voice
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
British statesman famous for his oratory; pleaded the cause of the American colonists in British Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)
From this reading "Come for a ride!" said Burke.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come for a ride!" said Burke.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
well in the past; former
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Come for a ride!" said Burke.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She shook her head.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
go away from a place
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, thank you.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading "Come for a ride!" said Burke.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Come for a ride!" said Burke.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading She shook her head.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "No, thank you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
producing exhaustion
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
up to a particular time
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
plural of “visitor” — someone who visits
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading THE BARGAIN THE visitors did not leave until the sun was well down in the west.
at the time that
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading To Sylvia it had been an inexplicably tiring day, and when they departed at length she breathed a wholly unconscious sigh of relief.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "No, thank you.
Chapter 12 of The Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 281 sentences, grouped into 57 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 281 sentences of The Top of the World, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 281 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10126 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12360 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12360, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2026 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Top of the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Top of the World 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 Top of the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
