Chapter 2 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ALONE. The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal. Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word. The same silence reigned in the vessel. No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.
Chapter 2 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading “The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.”
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading “The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.”
an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting
From this reading “No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.”
past form of “reign” — have sovereign power
From this reading “The same silence reigned in the vessel.”
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.”
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.”
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “The same silence reigned in the vessel.”
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 Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
Having no one else present.
From this reading ALONE.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
a young person of either sex
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting
From this reading No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The same silence reigned in the vessel.
the force of workers available
From this reading No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.
not in physical motion
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
not any; not one
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
past form of “reign” — have sovereign power
From this reading The same silence reigned in the vessel.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
Identical; not different.
From this reading The same silence reigned in the vessel.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The same silence reigned in the vessel.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No cry from the child to the men--no farewell from the men to the child.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading The same silence reigned in the vessel.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The child remained motionless on the rock, with his eyes fixed--no calling out, no appeal.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Though this was unexpected by him, he spoke not a word.
Chapter 2 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 177 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 14399 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12587, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2880 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man Who Laughs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Man Who Laughs 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 Man Who Laughs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
