Chapter 2 of Across the Years is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Across the Years is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while." Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice. "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?" "Well, isn't fancy-work all right?" The girl's voice shook a little.
Chapter 2 of Across the Years is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading “Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.”
possessive form of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading “Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.”
make void or empty of contents
From this reading “Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.”
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “The girl's voice shook a little.”
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “"Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “The girl's voice shook a little.”
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “"Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."”
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading “Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.”
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 "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
(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 "Well, isn't fancy-work all right?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
possessive form of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
dearly loved
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading The girl's voice shook a little.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, isn't fancy-work all right?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The girl's voice shook a little.
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Well, isn't fancy-work all right?"
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The girl's voice shook a little.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Meg, dear," she remonstrated, "is it that fancy-work?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
in the direction of
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, isn't fancy-work all right?"
during the time that
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Whitmore set down her empty cup and turned a troubled face toward the sound of her daughter's voice.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why, I thought," she began slowly, "I'd stay here with you and Katherine a while."
Chapter 2 of Across the Years by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of Across the Years, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Across the Years by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Across the Years by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3631 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6991 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6991, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 727 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Across the Years section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Across the Years 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 Across the Years, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
