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The Laughing Cavalier
The Laughing Cavalier

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Laughing Cavalier is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Laughing Cavalier
Context Illustration Reading 1/17 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....
If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....
If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....
If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....
If....
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Laughing Cavalier

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Laughing Cavalier is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/17 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....
/nuː jɪrz iːv ɪf ðə snoʊ hæd kʌm daʊn əˈɡen ɔːr ðə ˈweðər bɪn ˈkoʊldər ɔːr ˈwetər ɔːr ˈʌðər ðæn ɪt wɑːz/
Line 2
If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....
/ɪf wʌn ʌv ðə θriː men hæd bɪn mɔːr ˈθɜːrsti ɔːr ðə ˈʌðər mɔːr ˌɪnˈsɪstənt/
Line 3
If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....
/ɪf ɪt hæd bɪn ˈeni ˈʌðər deɪ ʌv ðə jɪr ɔːr ˈeni ˈʌðər ˈaʊər ʌv ˈeni ˈʌðər deɪ/
Line 4
If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....
Line 5
If....
/ɪf/

Learner Dictionary

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.

abroad adverb US /əˈbrɔːd/

to or in a foreign country

From this reading “If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....”

colder adjective US /ˈkoʊldər/

comparative of “cold” — having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration

From this reading “NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....”

eve noun US /iːv/

(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

From this reading “NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....”

insistent adjective US /ˌɪnˈsɪstənt/

repetitive and persistent

From this reading “If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....”

philosophers noun US /fəˈlɑːsəfərz/

plural of “philosopher” — a specialist in philosophy

From this reading “If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....”

thirsty adjective US /ˈθɜːrsti/

needing moisture

From this reading “If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....”

wetter noun US /ˈwetər/

a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved

From this reading “NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....”

year's noun US /jɪrz/

possessive form of “year” — a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days

From this reading “NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

three men noun + noun

In this reading “If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....”

come down verb + adjective

move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

In this reading “NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....”

other day adjective + noun

In this reading “If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....”

All words in this reading · 39

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.

abroadadverbUS /əˈbrɔːd/

to or in a foreign country

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

anyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/

one or some or every or all without specification

From this reading If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

citynounUS /ˈsɪti/

a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

colderadjectiveUS /ˈkoʊldər/

comparative of “cold” — having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

daynounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

EVEnounUS /iːv/

(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

Haarlem

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

hournounUS /ˈaʊər/

a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day

From this reading If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....

IfconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

insistentadjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈsɪstənt/

repetitive and persistent

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

NEWadjectiveUS /nuː/

not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

otheradjectiveUS /ˈʌðər/

not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

philosophersnounUS /fəˈlɑːsəfərz/

plural of “philosopher” — a specialist in philosophy

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

portionnounUS /ˈpɔːrʃən/

something determined in relation to something that includes it

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

snownounUS /snoʊ/

precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

takenadjectiveUS /ˈteɪkən/

understood in a certain way; made sense of

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

thirstyadjectiveUS /ˈθɜːrsti/

needing moisture

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

threenounUS /θriː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent....

walknounUS /wɔːk/

the act of traveling by foot

From this reading If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem....

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

weathernounUS /ˈweðər/

the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

wetternounUS /ˈwetər/

a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

yearnounUS /jɪr/

a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days

From this reading If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day....

YEAR'SnounUS /jɪrz/

possessive form of “year” — a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days

From this reading NEW YEAR'S EVE If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was....

Chapter 2 of The Laughing Cavalier by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy holds 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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.

What does chapter 2 of The Laughing Cavalier contain?

Chapter 2 holds 88 sentences of The Laughing Cavalier, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Laughing Cavalier by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The Laughing Cavalier?

Work through the 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 18 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Laughing Cavalier

Common questions about reading The Laughing Cavalier by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Laughing Cavalier?

Yes. All 5878 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33208 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Laughing Cavalier is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #33208, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Laughing Cavalier take to read?

About 489 minutes of reading across 1176 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Laughing Cavalier section by section

How to work through The Laughing Cavalier section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Laughing Cavalier to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Laughing Cavalier

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Laughing Cavalier, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Laughing Cavalier; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Scarlet
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Laughing Cavalier; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Pimpernel
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Laughing Cavalier; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Dorado
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Laughing Cavalier; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.