Chapter 2 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
George laughed. “That's one of the things you're expected to know. He never told me.” The Clokes were more communicative. That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
Chapter 2 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
of or relating to communication
From this reading “The Clokes were more communicative.”
plural of “farm” — workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
plural of “friar” — a male member of a religious order that originally relied solely on alms
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
the aggregate of past events
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
having official authority or sanction
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
from that time on
From this reading “That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.”
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 That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Clokes were more communicative.
of or relating to communication
From this reading The Clokes were more communicative.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
plural of “farm” — workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
plural of “friar” — a male member of a religious order that originally relied solely on alms
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading George laughed.
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He never told me.”
the aggregate of past events
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading George laughed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He never told me.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The Clokes were more communicative.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading He never told me.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
having official authority or sanction
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
accept an excuse for
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
from that time on
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading He never told me.”
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading That evening and thereafter for a week they gave the Chapins the official history, as one gives it to lodgers, of Friars Pardon the house and its five farms.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Clokes were more communicative.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That's one of the things you're expected to know.
Chapter 2 of Actions and reactions by Rudyard Kipling holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 213 sentences of Actions and reactions, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Actions and reactions by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 Actions and reactions by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4931 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2381 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2381, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 410 minutes of reading across 987 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Actions and reactions section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Actions and reactions 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 Actions and reactions, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
