Chapter 38 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands. The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground. “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo. “You knew that you had my soul! You know everything!
Chapter 38 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading “Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.”
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading “The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.”
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading “Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading ““From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.”
past form of “release” — release, as from one's grip
From this reading “Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.”
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.”
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 altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading You know everything!
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “You knew that you had my soul!
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You knew that you had my soul!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know everything!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
past form of “release” — release, as from one's grip
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Released, she hung her head, let fall her hands.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “You knew that you had my soul!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “You knew that you had my soul!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
a Caucasian
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The altar-cloth, as if tossed by a great wind, lay far away from them, gleaming white on the black ground.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “From fear of losing my hope of you,” said Nostromo.
Chapter 38 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad holds 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 38 holds 236 sentences of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 38 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 Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9719 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2021 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2021, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard 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 Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
