Chapter 2 of Beyond our control is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Beyond our control is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited. At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang. Blake, who was nearest, answered. "Yes. Good!
Chapter 2 of Beyond our control is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
a quantity of money
From this reading “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading “Blake, who was nearest, answered.”
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading “Blake, who was nearest, answered.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.”
(used especially of meats and fish) dried and cured by hanging in wood smoke
From this reading “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
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 “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
In this reading “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
In this reading “Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.”
In this reading “At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.”
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 Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
a quantity of money
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Blake, who was nearest, answered.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading Blake, who was nearest, answered.
make calm or still
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Good!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading Blake, who was nearest, answered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading At the end of the four minutes, the phone rang.
(used especially of meats and fish) dried and cured by hanging in wood smoke
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Blake, who was nearest, answered.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
during the time that
From this reading Four minutes came and went, while MacIlheny and the others smoked cigarettes and tried to maintain a certain amount of calm as they waited.
which person or people
From this reading Blake, who was nearest, answered.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes.
Chapter 2 of Beyond our control by Randall Garrett holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 178 sentences of Beyond our control, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Beyond our control by Randall Garrett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Beyond our control by Randall Garrett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 506 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71821 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71821, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 42 minutes of reading across 102 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beyond our control section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Beyond our control 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 Beyond our control, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
