Chapter 14 of No Thoroughfare is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of No Thoroughfare is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered. She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure. The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise! Softly!" They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
Chapter 14 of No Thoroughfare is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
having the physical appearance of death
From this reading “The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!”
impaired by diminution
From this reading “They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.”
a light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted
From this reading “The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.”
set afire
From this reading “The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.”
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.”
a very steep cliff
From this reading “The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.”
wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading “They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.”
plural of “torch” — a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance
From this reading “The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.”
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 The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
having the physical appearance of death
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
impaired by diminution
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
start firing a weapon
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
a light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
set afire
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
set afire or burning
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
below the surround or below the normal position
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
a very steep cliff
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
a strong line
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
get by special effort
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She could be seen passing it round him, and making it secure.
wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
plural of “side” — a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
with low volume
From this reading Softly!"
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They could see her diminished figure shrink, as he was swung into the air.
plural of “torch” — a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The cry came up into a deathly silence: "Raise!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The fire was kindled high, a great glare of torches lighted the sides of the precipice, lamps were lowered, a strong rope was lowered.
Chapter 14 of No Thoroughfare by Charles Dickens holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 14 holds 191 sentences of No Thoroughfare, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of No Thoroughfare by Charles Dickens exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 14 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 No Thoroughfare by Charles Dickens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3104 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1423 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1423, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 258 minutes of reading across 621 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through No Thoroughfare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of No Thoroughfare 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 No Thoroughfare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
