Chapter 2 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete is here in full — 398 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 Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair. She sighed deeply. "Shall we tell the children about it?" "No. What's the use, now?" "There wouldn't be any," she assented.
Chapter 2 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.”
to a great depth psychologically or emotionally
From this reading “She sighed deeply.”
mental turmoil
From this reading “He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.”
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading “He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.”
held up in the air
From this reading “He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “She sighed deeply.”
the act of using
From this reading “"No. What's the use, now?"”
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading “He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.”
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 came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Shall we tell the children about it?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "There wouldn't be any," she assented.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There wouldn't be any," she assented.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "There wouldn't be any," she assented.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading "Shall we tell the children about it?"
to a great depth psychologically or emotionally
From this reading She sighed deeply.
mental turmoil
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Shall we tell the children about it?"
held up in the air
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
not any; not one
From this reading "No. What's the use, now?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "No. What's the use, now?"
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "Shall we tell the children about it?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading She sighed deeply.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
express in words
From this reading "Shall we tell the children about it?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There wouldn't be any," she assented.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
the act of using
From this reading "No. What's the use, now?"
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Shall we tell the children about it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No. What's the use, now?"
in or at the place that
From this reading He came round the table to Isabel, where she sat in a growing distraction, and lifted her by the waist from her chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There wouldn't be any," she assented.
Chapter 2 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete by William Dean Howells holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 2 holds 398 sentences of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 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 Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9114 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4600 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4600, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1823 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete 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 Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
