Chapter 2 of Children of destiny is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Children of destiny is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago. The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more. “Old Wonder is dead.” People have lost the sense of admiration. It is the price paid for civilisation.
Chapter 2 of Children of destiny is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence
From this reading “The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.”
past form of “compare” — examine and note the similarities or differences of
From this reading “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
plural of “decline” — change toward something smaller or lower
From this reading “The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.”
plural of “marvel” — something that causes feelings of wonder
From this reading “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
being ten more than sixty
From this reading “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
being ten more than fifty
From this reading “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.”
correct by punishment or discipline
From this reading “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
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 “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
In this reading “It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.”
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.
a feeling of delighted approval and liking
From this reading People have lost the sense of admiration.
how long something has existed
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
in the past
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
any thing at all
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization
From this reading It is the price paid for civilisation.
past form of “compare” — examine and note the similarities or differences of
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “Old Wonder is dead.”
plural of “decline” — change toward something smaller or lower
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
greatly pleased
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading People have lost the sense of admiration.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
belonging to the present or recent times
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading People have lost the sense of admiration.
plural of “marvel” — something that causes feelings of wonder
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Old Wonder is dead.”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
marked by the reception of pay
From this reading It is the price paid for civilisation.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading People have lost the sense of admiration.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading It is the price paid for civilisation.
any competition
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading People have lost the sense of admiration.
being ten more than sixty
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
being ten more than fifty
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
correct by punishment or discipline
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading “Old Wonder is dead.”
used until no longer useful
From this reading The worn-out, tired race declines to be awed, or delighted, or startled any more.
a late time of life
From this reading It is impossible for anything in this tame, latter-day age to be compared with the marvels of fifty, sixty, seventy years ago.
Chapter 2 of Children of destiny by Molly Elliot Seawell holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 153 sentences of Children of destiny, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Children of destiny by Molly Elliot Seawell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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.
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Yes. All 4790 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69193 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69193, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 958 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Children of destiny section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Children of destiny 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 Children of destiny, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
