Chapter 20 of The Dark Road is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Dark Road is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness. "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?" "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you." "How pale you are! You are still suffering.
Chapter 20 of The Dark Road is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading “A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.”
in a state of sleep
From this reading “"You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."”
move deeply
From this reading “"You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."”
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading “"Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"”
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading “"Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"”
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading “"How pale you are!”
a state of acute pain
From this reading “You are still suffering.”
feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable
From this reading “A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.”
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 “"Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"”
In this reading “A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.”
In this reading “"Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"”
In this reading “A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.”
In this reading “A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.”
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 A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
anew
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "How pale you are!
in a state of sleep
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
move deeply
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How pale you are!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
go away from a place
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading "How pale you are!
cut with a saw
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
not in physical motion
From this reading You are still suffering.
a state of acute pain
From this reading You are still suffering.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
at the time that
From this reading A SIGHT OF THE ABYSS When Didier was in his own home again he saw that Françoise was in a state of great uneasiness.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why did you leave the house so early without letting me know?"
Chapter 20 of The Dark Road by Gaston Leroux holds 120 sentences, grouped into 24 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 120 sentences of The Dark Road, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Dark Road by Gaston Leroux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 120 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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.
Common questions about reading The Dark Road by Gaston Leroux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65459 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65459, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 386 minutes of reading across 929 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dark Road section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Dark Road 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 The Dark Road, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
