Chapter 13 of Light is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Light is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length. I do what so many others have done. I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move. The frightful searching of the shells alights around me. The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
Chapter 13 of Light is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
provoking horror
From this reading “The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.”
deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion
From this reading “The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!”
a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
From this reading “The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.”
water soaked soil; soft wet earth
From this reading “I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.”
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading “THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.”
plural of “shell” — ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun
From this reading “The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
Having no one else present.
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
provoking horror
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
for more time
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
water soaked soil; soft wet earth
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
not any; not one
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
plural of “shell” — ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun
From this reading The frightful searching of the shells alights around me.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading THE RUINS I fall on my knees, and then full length.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
hard to endure
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I do what so many others have done.
in or at the place that
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
in the company of; together with
From this reading I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move.
but in spite of that
From this reading The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am!
Chapter 13 of Light by Henri Barbusse holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 13 holds 134 sentences of Light, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Light by Henri Barbusse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 13 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 Light by Henri Barbusse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5323 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12904 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12904, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 443 minutes of reading across 1065 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Light section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Light 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 Light, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
