Chapter 2 of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories is here in full — 484 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories is here in full — 484 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock. They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five. They seemed many miles away. "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly. The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
Chapter 2 of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories is here in full — 484 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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 timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.”
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading “They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.”
plural of “disk” — something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
From this reading “The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.”
enlarged to an abnormal degree
From this reading “The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.”
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading “The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.”
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading “They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.”
plural of “stroke” — (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading “They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.”
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading “The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.”
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.
by three orders of magnitude
In this reading “The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.”
In this reading “They seemed many miles away.”
In this reading “"It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.”
pursue or resume
In this reading “The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.”
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 disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading They seemed many miles away.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
plural of “disk” — something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
enlarged to an abnormal degree
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading They seemed many miles away.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading They seemed many miles away.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
plural of “note” — a brief written record
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading They seemed many miles away.
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
plural of “stroke” — (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
up to a particular time
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading They counted the strokes--one, two, three, four, five.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The disks took up the sweet notes and magnified them till they sang a thousand times more sweetly.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were interrupted by the striking of the old town-clock.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "It is the old clock in the tower," whispered Polly.
Chapter 2 of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories by Robert Bloomer Hare Bell holds 484 sentences, grouped into 97 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 2 holds 484 sentences of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 97 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories by Robert Bloomer Hare Bell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 484 sentences, grouped into 97 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 97 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 97 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 2 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 Laughing Bear, and Other Stories by Robert Bloomer Hare Bell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1443 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54881 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54881, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 120 minutes of reading across 289 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Laughing Bear, and Other Stories 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 Laughing Bear, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
