Chapter 2 of Ahead of the Army is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Ahead of the Army is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FAR-AWAY GUNS "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf. There came a long silence, and then another boom.
Chapter 2 of Ahead of the Army is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading “FAR-AWAY GUNS "Boom!”
an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
a republic in southern North America; became independent from Spain in 1810
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
waves breaking on the shore
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
plural of “surge” — a sudden forceful flow
From this reading “The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.”
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 There came a long silence, and then another boom.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading There came a long silence, and then another boom.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
a feeling of evil to come
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading FAR-AWAY GUNS "Boom!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading There came a long silence, and then another boom.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FAR-AWAY GUNS "Boom!
an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading FAR-AWAY GUNS "Boom!
to a considerable degree
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
a republic in southern North America; became independent from Spain in 1810
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There came a long silence, and then another boom.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
waves breaking on the shore
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
plural of “surge” — a sudden forceful flow
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There came a long silence, and then another boom.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There came a long silence, and then another boom.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon the sandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not the roar of the surf.
Chapter 2 of Ahead of the Army by William O. Stoddard holds 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 118 sentences of Ahead of the Army, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Ahead of the Army by William O. Stoddard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 Ahead of the Army by William O. Stoddard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3489 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23744 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23744, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 698 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ahead of the Army section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Ahead of the Army 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 Ahead of the Army, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
