Chapter 12 of The Willing Horse: A Novel is here in full — 402 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 Willing Horse: A Novel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I was turning away, when the gunner said: "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge. It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins. If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon." "That’s good advice," I said.
Chapter 12 of The Willing Horse: A Novel is here in full — 402 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.
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
plural of “end” — either extremity of something that has length
From this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
a graded change in the magnitude of some physical quantity or dimension
From this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
a serviceman in the artillery
From this reading “I was turning away, when the gunner said:”
avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading “"There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.”
any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus Primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads
From this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
From this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
having a sunken area
From this reading “"There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.”
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 “"That’s good advice," I said.”
In this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
In this reading “It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.”
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 "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
a proposal for an appropriate course of action
From this reading "That’s good advice," I said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
plural of “end” — either extremity of something that has length
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "That’s good advice," I said.
a graded change in the magnitude of some physical quantity or dimension
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
a serviceman in the artillery
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
To move from a closed position.
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
above and across; more than
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus Primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
term of address for a man
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
in the near future
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
successive (without a break)
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
having a sunken area
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
carry out
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That’s good advice," I said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There’s a sunken road over there, sir, behind that hedge.
in the direction of
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
at the time that
From this reading I was turning away, when the gunner said:
in or at the place that
From this reading It runs straight towards Primrose Hill for nearly a mile, and ends where the gradient really begins.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you followed that you could get shelter for a bit, and need not take open order quite so soon."
Chapter 12 of The Willing Horse: A Novel by Ian Hay holds 402 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 402 sentences of The Willing Horse: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Willing Horse: A Novel by Ian Hay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 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 Willing Horse: A Novel by Ian Hay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5243 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46549 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46549, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 436 minutes of reading across 1049 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Willing Horse: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Willing Horse: A Novel 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 Willing Horse: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
