Chapter 2 of Battlewrack is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Battlewrack is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery. It was littered with dead and dying men. A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it. Men pulled away a body from underneath. Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
Chapter 2 of Battlewrack is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading “The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.”
filled or scattered with a disorderly accumulation of objects or rubbish
From this reading “It was littered with dead and dying men.”
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading “A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.”
plural of “splash” — the sound like water splashing
From this reading “Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.”
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading “Men pulled away a body from underneath.”
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading “Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.”
plural of “wagon” — any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading “Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.”
the remaining parts of something that has been wrecked
From this reading “The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.”
pull back or move away or backward
In this reading “Men pulled away a body from underneath.”
In this reading “A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.”
In this reading “Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.”
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 A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Men pulled away a body from underneath.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
past form of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Men pulled away a body from underneath.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Men pulled away a body from underneath.
plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
filled or scattered with a disorderly accumulation of objects or rubbish
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
the force of workers available
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading Men pulled away a body from underneath.
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
plural of “splash” — the sound like water splashing
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading Men pulled away a body from underneath.
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading A wagon lay on its side, was being righted as he looked at it.
plural of “wagon” — any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading Every vehicle in the line, guns and wagons, was pock-marked with splashes of lead.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was littered with dead and dying men.
the remaining parts of something that has been wrecked
From this reading The subaltern turned to look at what he believed to be the wreckage of his battery.
Chapter 2 of Battlewrack by F. Britten (Frederick Britten) Austin holds 379 sentences, grouped into 76 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 379 sentences of Battlewrack, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Battlewrack by F. Britten (Frederick Britten) Austin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 379 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 Battlewrack by F. Britten (Frederick Britten) Austin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5661 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60530 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60530, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1133 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Battlewrack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Battlewrack 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 Battlewrack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
