Chapter 12 of The Town Traveller is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Town Traveller is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?" Polly stared in astonishment. "What d'you mean?" "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?" The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
Chapter 12 of The Town Traveller is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
experiencing a sudden sense of danger
From this reading “The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.”
a plant of the genus Trifolium
From this reading “"Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"”
marked by skill in deception
From this reading “GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"”
past form of “deepen” — make more intense, stronger, or more marked
From this reading “The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.”
meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
From this reading “GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"”
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.”
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading “The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.”
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading “The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.”
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 GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
experiencing a sudden sense of danger
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Polly stared in astonishment.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
a plant of the genus Trifolium
From this reading "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"
having or capable of producing colors
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
marked by skill in deception
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What d'you mean?"
past form of “deepen” — make more intense, stronger, or more marked
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
opinion or judgment
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Polly stared in astonishment.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "What d'you mean?"
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Polly stared in astonishment.
possessing material wealth
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Polly stared in astonishment.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
a special situation
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading The girl's colour deepened by a shade (it was already rich), and her eyes grew alarmed, suspicious, watchful.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why did you let out to Mrs. Clover what you knew?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading GAMMON THE CRAFTY "What did you want to do such a silly thing as that for?"
Chapter 12 of The Town Traveller by George Gissing holds 149 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 149 sentences of The Town Traveller, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Town Traveller by George Gissing exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Town Traveller by George Gissing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4522 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4308 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4308, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 376 minutes of reading across 905 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Town Traveller section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Town Traveller 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 Town Traveller, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
