Chapter 2 of A Beleaguered City is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Beleaguered City is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After this I went home. My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another. '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me. They wept, these dear women. I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
Chapter 2 of A Beleaguered City is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.”
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading “'_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.”
be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
From this reading “I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.”
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading “My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.”
(American football) an attempt to advance the ball by running into the line
From this reading “'_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.”
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “They wept, these dear women.”
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “They wept, these dear women.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After this I went home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
dearly loved
From this reading They wept, these dear women.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
100 Yemeni fils are worth one Yemeni rial
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading After this I went home.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading After this I went home.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
(American football) an attempt to advance the ball by running into the line
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
express in words
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading They wept, these dear women.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading After this I went home.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading '_O mon fils!_' and '_O mon ami!_' they said, rushing upon me.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading After this I went home.
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading They wept, these dear women.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I could not at first prevail upon them to tell me what was the matter.
at the time that
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading My mother came running to one door when I entered, and my wife to another.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading They wept, these dear women.
Chapter 2 of A Beleaguered City by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of A Beleaguered City, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Beleaguered City by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 A Beleaguered City by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2442 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11521 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11521, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 203 minutes of reading across 489 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Beleaguered City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of A Beleaguered City 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 A Beleaguered City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
