Chapter 2 of A Coffin for Jacob is here in full — 566 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Coffin for Jacob is here in full — 566 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
* * * * * This was the crisis. He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist. "Afraid?" she asked. "Afraid," he repeated, shaking. It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
Chapter 2 of A Coffin for Jacob is here in full — 566 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/113 · 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.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading “* * * * * This was the crisis.”
-ing form of “desire” — feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.”
past form of “funnel” — move or pour through a funnel
From this reading “It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.”
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.”
recurring again and again
From this reading “"Afraid," he repeated, shaking.”
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading “"Afraid," he repeated, shaking.”
the shape of something rotating rapidly
From this reading “It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.”
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading “He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.”
without official authorization
In this reading “He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.”
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 It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading "Afraid?" she asked.
(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 was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Afraid?" she asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading * * * * * This was the crisis.
-ing form of “desire” — feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
past form of “funnel” — move or pour through a funnel
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
a particular point in time
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
recurring again and again
From this reading "Afraid," he repeated, shaking.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading "Afraid," he repeated, shaking.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Afraid?" she asked.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading * * * * * This was the crisis.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading * * * * * This was the crisis.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
precisely as stated
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
the shape of something rotating rapidly
From this reading It was as if all time had been funneled into this instant, as if this moment lay at the very vortex of all a man's living and desiring.
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading He sat on the side of the bed, Maggie before him, her strong arm about his waist.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading * * * * * This was the crisis.
Chapter 2 of A Coffin for Jacob by Edward W. Ludwig holds 566 sentences, grouped into 114 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 566 sentences of A Coffin for Jacob, unabridged, divided into 114 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Coffin for Jacob by Edward W. Ludwig exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 566 sentences, grouped into 114 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 114 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 114 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 Coffin for Jacob by Edward W. Ludwig on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1137 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51203 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51203, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 94 minutes of reading across 228 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Coffin for Jacob section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of A Coffin for Jacob 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 Coffin for Jacob, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
