Chapter 2 of An awfully big adventure is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of An awfully big adventure is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And you'll play, too?" "I?" Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch. "Are you sure you want me? I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
Chapter 2 of An awfully big adventure is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 expectation
From this reading “Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.”
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.”
possessive form of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading “Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.”
plural of “game” — a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading “I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."”
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."”
past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else
From this reading “Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.”
(of games) engaged in
From this reading “I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."”
try to get or reach
From this reading “I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."”
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 “Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.”
a prolonged period of time
In this reading “I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."”
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 Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And you'll play, too?"
an expectation
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you sure you want me?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
possessive form of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
plural of “game” — a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
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 I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Are you sure you want me?
past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
a brief written record
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
participate in games or sport
From this reading "And you'll play, too?"
(of games) engaged in
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
on the contrary
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
try to get or reach
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
from a time in the past until now
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading "Are you sure you want me?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I'm not much good at games; it's rather a long time since I played hide and seek, you know."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "And you'll play, too?"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "Are you sure you want me?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Graeme's tone was one of apprehension, but mingled with it was a note of pleased anticipation the child's ear was quick to catch.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you sure you want me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And you'll play, too?"
Chapter 2 of An awfully big adventure by Bartimeus holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 398 sentences of An awfully big adventure, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of An awfully big adventure by Bartimeus exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 An awfully big adventure by Bartimeus on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3596 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73819 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73819, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 299 minutes of reading across 720 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An awfully big adventure section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of An awfully big adventure 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 An awfully big adventure, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
