Chapter 2 of A Hive of Busy Bees is here in full — 459 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Hive of Busy Bees is here in full — 459 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"'Are you sure?' asked Daddy. "'Yes,' said Milton again. "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!' But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.' And so he soon forgot all about it.
Chapter 2 of A Hive of Busy Bees is here in full — 459 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “"The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'”
noisy like the sound of a bee
From this reading “"The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “"'Are you sure?' asked Daddy.”
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “And so he soon forgot all about it.”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading “But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'”
fasten with a latch
From this reading “But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'”
English poet; remembered primarily as the author of an epic poem describing humanity's fall from grace (1608-1674)
From this reading “"'Yes,' said Milton again.”
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading “But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'”
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 "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading And so he soon forgot all about it.
anew
From this reading "'Yes,' said Milton again.
(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 But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And so he soon forgot all about it.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "'Are you sure?' asked Daddy.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "'Are you sure?' asked Daddy.
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
a youthful male person
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
noisy like the sound of a bee
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading "'Are you sure?' asked Daddy.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading And so he soon forgot all about it.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
fasten with a latch
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
English poet; remembered primarily as the author of an epic poem describing humanity's fall from grace (1608-1674)
From this reading "'Yes,' said Milton again.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
To move from a closed position.
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "'Yes,' said Milton again.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And so he soon forgot all about it.
in the near future
From this reading And so he soon forgot all about it.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
happening unexpectedly
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading "'Are you sure?' asked Daddy.
express in words
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
a special situation
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
a fact that has been verified
From this reading "The little boy suddenly heard a bee buzzing in his ears--'Tell the truth, Milton; tell the truth!'
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But he said to himself, 'It won't matter if the gate stands open all night; I will latch it the first thing in the morning.'
an affirmative
From this reading "'Yes,' said Milton again.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "'Are you sure?' asked Daddy.
Chapter 2 of A Hive of Busy Bees by Effie Mae Hency Williams holds 459 sentences, grouped into 92 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 459 sentences of A Hive of Busy Bees, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Hive of Busy Bees by Effie Mae Hency Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 459 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 Hive of Busy Bees by Effie Mae Hency Williams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1377 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7027 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7027, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 114 minutes of reading across 276 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Hive of Busy Bees section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of A Hive of Busy Bees 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 Hive of Busy Bees, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
