Chapter XX of The dark eyes of London, “The Man Who Was Deaf,” is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter XX of The dark eyes of London, “The Man Who Was Deaf,” is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes. “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder. “You must lie there a little while. What is the trouble?” “The room is a little close, I think,” she said.
Chapter XX of The dark eyes of London, “The Man Who Was Deaf,” is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading ““I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.”
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading ““I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.”
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading ““You must lie there a little while.”
in the near future
From this reading “He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.”
move upward
From this reading ““I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.”
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading ““I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.”
hard to endure
From this reading ““I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.”
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 ““You must lie there a little while.”
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 He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading “The room is a little close, I think,” she said.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What is the trouble?”
set down according to a plan
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading “You must lie there a little while.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “You must lie there a little while.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “You must lie there a little while.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
in the near future
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
move upward
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “The room is a little close, I think,” she said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What is the trouble?”
in or at that place or location
From this reading “You must lie there a little while.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “The room is a little close, I think,” she said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He carried her to a sofa and laid her down, and presently she opened her eyes.
a source of difficulty
From this reading What is the trouble?”
hard to endure
From this reading “I am an awful idiot,” she said, trying to rise, but he laid his hand on her shoulder.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What is the trouble?”
during the time that
From this reading “You must lie there a little while.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You must lie there a little while.
Chapter 20 of The dark eyes of London by Edgar Wallace holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 20 holds 195 sentences of The dark eyes of London, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The dark eyes of London by Edgar Wallace exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 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 20 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The dark eyes of London, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
