Chapter 12 of When God Laughs, and Other Stories is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of When God Laughs, and Other Stories is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute. Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago. “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted. “I don't want my head cut off.” Cruchot scowled.
Chapter 12 of When God Laughs, and Other Stories is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading “Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.”
give encouragement to
From this reading “Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.”
extremely painful
From this reading “He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.”
pertaining to or concerned with the humanities
From this reading “Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.”
great merriment
From this reading “Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.”
past form of “persist” — continue to exist
From this reading ““But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.”
past form of “scowl” — frown with displeasure
From this reading “Cruchot scowled.”
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 He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
give encouragement to
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
carefully weighed
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cruchot scowled.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading “I don't want my head cut off.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don't want my head cut off.”
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
extremely painful
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “I don't want my head cut off.”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
pertaining to or concerned with the humanities
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
immediately past
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
the sound of laughing
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
great merriment
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I don't want my head cut off.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “I don't want my head cut off.”
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
past form of “persist” — continue to exist
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
past form of “scowl” — frown with displeasure
From this reading Cruchot scowled.
express in words
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “I don't want my head cut off.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Part of his mirth was assumed, but he considered it his humane duty to cheer up the Chinago.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He considered this last an excruciating joke, and permitted himself to be convulsed with laughter for half a minute.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “But I tell you I am Ah Cho,” the other persisted.
Chapter 12 of When God Laughs, and Other Stories by Jack London holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 12 holds 192 sentences of When God Laughs, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of When God Laughs, and Other Stories by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 12 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 When God Laughs, and Other Stories by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3846 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2545 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2545, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 320 minutes of reading across 770 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through When God Laughs, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of When God Laughs, 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 When God Laughs, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
