Chapter 2 of Before Egypt is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Before Egypt is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"All right--forget the pyramids. What happened to the rest of their science?" "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people. They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life. To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
Chapter 2 of Before Egypt is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
pertaining to or constituting a base or basis
From this reading “"The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.”
plural of “egyptian” — a native or inhabitant of Egypt
From this reading “"The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.”
time without end
From this reading “To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.”
deeply absorbed in thought
From this reading “They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.”
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading “To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.”
plural of “pyramid” — a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex
From this reading “"All right--forget the pyramids.”
a particular branch of scientific knowledge
From this reading “What happened to the rest of their science?"”
a general direction in which something tends to move
From this reading “"The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.”
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.
prepare mentally or emotionally for something unpleasant
In this reading “To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.”
In this reading “What happened to the rest of their science?"”
originate (in)
In this reading “"The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.”
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 "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
(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 "All right--forget the pyramids.
react verbally
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
pertaining to or constituting a base or basis
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
plural of “egyptian” — a native or inhabitant of Egypt
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
time without end
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading "All right--forget the pyramids.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
and nothing more
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
an amount of time
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
deeply absorbed in thought
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
plural of “pyramid” — a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex
From this reading "All right--forget the pyramids.
on the contrary
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
precisely, exactly
From this reading "All right--forget the pyramids.
a particular branch of scientific knowledge
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "All right--forget the pyramids.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
a general direction in which something tends to move
From this reading "The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What happened to the rest of their science?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They were completely preoccupied with death rather than life.
a late time of life
From this reading To them, their years of living was only a period in which to prepare for eternity.
Chapter 2 of Before Egypt by Robert Bloch holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 408 sentences of Before Egypt, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Before Egypt by Robert Bloch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Before Egypt by Robert Bloch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1647 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30932 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30932, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 137 minutes of reading across 330 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Before Egypt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Before Egypt 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 Before Egypt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
