Chapter XXIV of Held by Chinese Brigands, “How the Tiger Vanished in Thin Air,” is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXIV of Held by Chinese Brigands, “How the Tiger Vanished in Thin Air,” is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view. The light was fading rapidly. It would soon be quite dark. A heavy mist was gathering in the valley. Frank looked at his companion.
Chapter XXIV of Held by Chinese Brigands, “How the Tiger Vanished in Thin Air,” is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
weakening in force or intensity
From this reading “The light was fading rapidly.”
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading “A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.”
shoot down, of birds
From this reading “They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.”
become covered with mist
From this reading “A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.”
with speed
From this reading “The light was fading rapidly.”
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading “They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.”
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading “They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.”
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.”
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 “They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Frank looked at his companion.”
In this reading “They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.”
In this reading “A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.”
In this reading “They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.”
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 They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Frank looked at his companion.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It would soon be quite dark.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading Frank looked at his companion.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It would soon be quite dark.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
weakening in force or intensity
From this reading The light was fading rapidly.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Frank looked at his companion.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Frank looked at his companion.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would soon be quite dark.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The light was fading rapidly.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Frank looked at his companion.
become covered with mist
From this reading A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading It would soon be quite dark.
with speed
From this reading The light was fading rapidly.
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
in the near future
From this reading It would soon be quite dark.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading A heavy mist was gathering in the valley.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
in or at the place that
From this reading They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the grass was long enough to screen them from view.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would soon be quite dark.
Chapter 24 of Held by Chinese Brigands by Charles Gilson holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 24 holds 151 sentences of Held by Chinese Brigands, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Held by Chinese Brigands by Charles Gilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 24 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 Held by Chinese Brigands by Charles Gilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4057 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39254 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39254, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 338 minutes of reading across 812 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Held by Chinese Brigands section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Held by Chinese Brigands 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 Held by Chinese Brigands, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
