Chapter 2 of A Sharper's Downfall is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Sharper's Downfall is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ANOTHER PHASE. The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant. He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said: “I expected that call, but hardly so early.” He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
Chapter 2 of A Sharper's Downfall is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
From this reading “The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading “The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.”
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.”
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading “He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.”
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading “He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.”
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading “ANOTHER PHASE.”
-ing form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:”
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 “The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.”
a man who is roughly between 45 and 65 years old
In this reading “He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.”
In this reading “He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:”
In this reading “He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.”
to come or go into
In this reading “He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.”
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 next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading ANOTHER PHASE.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
eat an early morning meal
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
only a very short time before
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading ANOTHER PHASE.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I expected that call, but hardly so early.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
-ing form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
at the time that
From this reading The next morning Nick Carter had hardly concluded his breakfast when a card was brought to him by the servant.
in or at the place that
From this reading He went into the parlor, where a middle-aged man rose to greet him.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading He smiled as he read it, and, tossing it to his wife across the table, said:
Chapter 2 of A Sharper's Downfall by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 96 sentences of A Sharper's Downfall, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Sharper's Downfall by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 Sharper's Downfall by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3920 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66718 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66718, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 326 minutes of reading across 784 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Sharper's Downfall section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of A Sharper's Downfall 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 Sharper's Downfall, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
