Chapter 23 of Manhattan Transfer is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Manhattan Transfer is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette. He was making up the story in his mind.... In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark.... I ought to get out and see what’s going on. He groped for the front door.
Chapter 23 of Manhattan Transfer is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
forsaken by owner or inhabitants
From this reading “In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....”
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading “In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.”
past form of “grope” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading “He groped for the front door.”
blowing tobacco smoke out into the air
From this reading “Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.”
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading “In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....”
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.”
make whistling sounds
From this reading “In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....”
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.
exterior door (at the entrance) at the front of a building
In this reading “He groped for the front door.”
feel searchingly
In this reading “He groped for the front door.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “I ought to get out and see what’s going on.”
In this reading “In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....”
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 Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
forsaken by owner or inhabitants
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
absence of light or illumination
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He groped for the front door.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He groped for the front door.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading He groped for the front door.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
a young female
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
the act of departing
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
past form of “grope” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading He groped for the front door.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
a native or inhabitant of Italy
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
blowing tobacco smoke out into the air
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
large (up to 20 lbs) food fish of the eastern coast of the United States and Mexico
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Jimmy Herf walked up and down uneasily puffing on a cigarette.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was making up the story in his mind....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I ought to get out and see what’s going on.
make whistling sounds
From this reading In a lonely abandoned dancehall on Sheepshead Bay ... lovely blooming Italian girl ... shrill whistle in the dark....
Chapter 23 of Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos holds 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 23 holds 391 sentences of Manhattan Transfer, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 23 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 Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Manhattan Transfer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Manhattan Transfer 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 Manhattan Transfer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
