Chapter 2 of A Commentary is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Commentary is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road. His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came.... Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play. “Mr. and Mrs. James White?” “First floor back.
Chapter 2 of A Commentary is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.”
plural of “gutter” — a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater
From this reading “Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.”
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....”
push forcefully
From this reading “He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.”
having passed out of existence
From this reading “His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....”
a message informing of danger
From this reading “He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.”
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading “His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....”
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 thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.”
the floor of a building that is at or nearest to the level of the ground around the building
In this reading ““First floor back.”
push to thrust outward
In this reading “He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.”
talk or narrate at length
In this reading “He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.”
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.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “First floor back.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “First floor back.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading “First floor back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
coins made of gold
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
plural of “gutter” — a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. James White?”
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. James White?”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. James White?”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
participate in games or sport
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
push forcefully
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
having passed out of existence
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
a message informing of danger
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading His shape vanished into darkness, whence it came....
in or at the place that
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
a Caucasian
From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. James White?”
belonging to which person
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Gold Street with its small grey houses whose doors are always open, and its garbage-littered gutters, where children are at play.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He thrust out his face to see whether he might trust his ears, then without warning turned and ran on down the road.
Chapter 2 of A Commentary by John Galsworthy holds 438 sentences, grouped into 88 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 438 sentences of A Commentary, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Commentary by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 438 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Commentary by John Galsworthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1749 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #68242 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #68242, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 145 minutes of reading across 350 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Commentary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of A Commentary 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 Commentary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
