Chapter 2 of A People's Man is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A People's Man is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair. Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation. He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening. From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound. "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
Chapter 2 of A People's Man is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “"You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.”
plural of “inch” — a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading “"You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.”
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading “Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “"You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.”
show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading “Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.”
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading “From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “"You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.”
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading “He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.”
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 From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
plural of “inch” — a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
on one occasion
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
having a point
From this reading Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair.
show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading Maraton, however, did not at once respond to his gesture of invitation.
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
having a supporting base
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading From the street outside came a strange, rumbling sound.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Foley pointed to an easy-chair.
held up in the air
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was standing, tense and silent, with head upraised, listening.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You permit?" he asked, stepping to the window and drawing the curtain a few inches on one side.
Chapter 2 of A People's Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 152 sentences, grouped into 31 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 152 sentences of A People's Man, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A People's Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 152 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 People's Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7482 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17272 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17272, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1497 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A People's Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of A People's Man 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 People's Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
