Chapter 1 of 2 B R 0 2 B is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of 2 B R 0 2 B is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem? Just pick up the phone. It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR. Everything was perfectly swell. There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
Chapter 1 of 2 B R 0 2 B is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
plural of “cripple” — someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back
From this reading “There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.”
afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement
From this reading “There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “Just pick up the phone.”
plural of “prison” — a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading “There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.”
plural of “slum” — a district of a city marked by poverty and inferior living conditions
From this reading “There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.”
explained or answered
From this reading “It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.”
United States writer whose novels and short stories are a mixture of realism and satire and science fiction (born in 1922)
From this reading “By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?”
plural of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.”
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 By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
plural of “cripple” — someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything was perfectly swell.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
and nothing more
From this reading Just pick up the phone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
not any; not one
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Everything was perfectly swell.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading Just pick up the phone.
select carefully from a group
From this reading Just pick up the phone.
the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
plural of “prison” — a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
Identical; not different.
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
plural of “slum” — a district of a city marked by poverty and inferior living conditions
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
explained or answered
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity
From this reading Everything was perfectly swell.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Just pick up the phone.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Just pick up the phone.
United States writer whose novels and short stories are a mixture of realism and satire and science fiction (born in 1922)
From this reading By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Got a problem?
plural of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Everything was perfectly swell.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It solved them all--and all the same way! by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.
Chapter 1 of 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut holds 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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 1 holds 232 sentences of 2 B R 0 2 B, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 1 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 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 232 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21279 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21279, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 19 minutes of reading across 47 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through 2 B R 0 2 B section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of 2 B R 0 2 B 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 2 B R 0 2 B, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
