Chapter 2 of Boys of the Light Brigade is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Boys of the Light Brigade is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith. "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?" "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy. I wish Lumsden would hurry up. I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
Chapter 2 of Boys of the Light Brigade is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
do away with
From this reading “"We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"”
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “"If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “I wish Lumsden would hurry up.”
beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
From this reading “I want to see Pomeroy lick him."”
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading “"If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.”
sparsely covered with stunted trees or vegetation and underbrush
From this reading “"Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.”
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading “"If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.”
changing to a lighter color
From this reading “"If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.”
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.
be contingent on
In this reading “"If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.”
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 "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
do away with
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
a youthful male person
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
a laborer who moves from place to place as demanded by employment
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading I wish Lumsden would hurry up.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
From this reading I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I wish Lumsden would hurry up.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
express in words
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
sparsely covered with stunted trees or vegetation and underbrush
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading "Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I wish Lumsden would hurry up.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
changing to a lighter color
From this reading "If that’s his character, depend upon it he’s responsible for the regidor’s whitening," said Smith.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading I wish Lumsden would hurry up.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I wish Lumsden would hurry up.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "We’ll have to abolish the boy; don’t you think so?"
Chapter 2 of Boys of the Light Brigade by Herbert Strang holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Boys of the Light Brigade, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Boys of the Light Brigade by Herbert Strang exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Boys of the Light Brigade by Herbert Strang on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8281 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44190 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44190, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1657 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Boys of the Light Brigade section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Boys of the Light Brigade 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 Boys of the Light Brigade, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
