Chapter 12 of White Fire is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of White Fire is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard. But this was no time to stand glooming. The wrong was done. Now to see if it could be righted. He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
Chapter 12 of White Fire is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 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.
possessive form of “blair” — British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953)
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
informal intensifiers
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
comparative of “grim” — not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading “Now to see if it could be righted.”
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
with respect to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
comparative of “tight” — closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
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 “THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.”
In this reading “He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Now to see if it could be righted.
possessive form of “blair” — British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953)
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Now to see if it could be righted.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The wrong was done.
at any time
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
informal intensifiers
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
depressingly dark
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
comparative of “grim” — not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Now to see if it could be righted.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
not any; not one
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now to see if it could be righted.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading Now to see if it could be righted.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Now to see if it could be righted.
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
be standing; be upright
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
with respect to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
comparative of “tight” — closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But this was no time to stand glooming.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading He turned and led the way back to the boat, thinking too hard for speech.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THE FLAMING SWORD Blair's face was tighter and grimmer than ever as he took it all in, and the faces of the rest were sympathetically hard.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading The wrong was done.
Chapter 12 of White Fire by John Oxenham holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 145 sentences of White Fire, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of White Fire by John Oxenham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 White Fire by John Oxenham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4962 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38061 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38061, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 413 minutes of reading across 993 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through White Fire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of White Fire 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 White Fire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
