Chapter 2 of Broken to the Plow A Novel is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Broken to the Plow A Novel is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car. It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model. "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in. "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!" Hilmer returned.
Chapter 2 of Broken to the Plow A Novel is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading “"What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"”
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading “When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.”
promise of reimbursement in the case of loss; paid to people or companies so concerned about hazards that they have made prepayments to an insurance company
From this reading “"What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"”
covered by insurance
From this reading “"Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.”
displaying luxury and furnishing gratification to the senses
From this reading “It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.”
a hypothetical description of a complex entity or process
From this reading “It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.”
something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason
From this reading “When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.”
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 It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
being one more than ten
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
promise of reimbursement in the case of loss; paid to people or companies so concerned about hazards that they have made prepayments to an insurance company
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
covered by insurance
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
held up in the air
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
displaying luxury and furnishing gratification to the senses
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
the force of workers available
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
a hypothetical description of a complex entity or process
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Is it insured?" asked Starratt, as he lifted Mrs. Hilmer in.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
established beyond doubt
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Hilmer returned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
precisely as stated
From this reading It proved to be a very late and very luxurious model.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
at the time that
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
in the company of; together with
From this reading When the Hilmers left, about half past eleven, Starratt went down to the curb with them, on the pretext of looking at Hilmer's new car.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What a hungry bunch you insurance men are!"
Chapter 2 of Broken to the Plow A Novel by Charles Caldwell Dobie holds 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 167 sentences of Broken to the Plow A Novel, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Broken to the Plow A Novel by Charles Caldwell Dobie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Broken to the Plow A Novel by Charles Caldwell Dobie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Broken to the Plow A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Broken to the Plow A Novel 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 Broken to the Plow A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
