Chapter 24 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE. The hurricane had just stopped short. There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester. The fierce clarions of space were mute. The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
Chapter 24 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
change toward something smaller or lower
From this reading “The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.”
an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay
From this reading “The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.”
a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
From this reading “The hurricane had just stopped short.”
expressed without speech
From this reading “The fierce clarions of space were mute.”
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading “The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.”
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.”
a message informing of danger
From this reading “The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.”
wind that blows from west to east
From this reading “There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.”
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 whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The fierce clarions of space were mute.
change toward something smaller or lower
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading The fierce clarions of space were mute.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The hurricane had just stopped short.
a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
From this reading The hurricane had just stopped short.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
and nothing more
From this reading The hurricane had just stopped short.
for more time
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
expressed without speech
From this reading The fierce clarions of space were mute.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The fierce clarions of space were mute.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
straight up or down without a break
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading The hurricane had just stopped short.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
a former French coin of low denomination; often used of any small amount of money
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading The fierce clarions of space were mute.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The hurricane had just stopped short.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
a message informing of danger
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
a tornado passing over water and picking up a column of water and mist
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The fierce clarions of space were mute.
wind that blows from west to east
From this reading There was no longer in the air sou’-wester or nor’-wester.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading The whole of the waterspout had poured from the sky without any warning of diminution, as if it had slided perpendicularly into a gulf beneath.
buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading THE PROBLEM SUDDENLY WORKS IN SILENCE.
Chapter 24 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 24 holds 56 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 24 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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How to work through The Man Who Laughs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Man Who Laughs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
