Chapter 2 of Contagion is here in full — 487 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Contagion is here in full — 487 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself. Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves. She had used it before only in emergency. She extended a hand and looked at it. It was trembling.
Chapter 2 of Contagion is here in full — 487 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/97 · 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 sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading “She had used it before only in emergency.”
exaggerated feeling of well-being or elation
From this reading “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading “She extended a hand and looked at it.”
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
plural of “pill” — something that resembles a tablet of medicine in shape or size
From this reading “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains
From this reading “After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.”
inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
From this reading “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
make steady
From this reading “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
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 “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “She extended a hand and looked at it.”
In this reading “Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.”
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 Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
later than; following
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
(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 Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She had used it before only in emergency.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading She had used it before only in emergency.
exaggerated feeling of well-being or elation
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading She extended a hand and looked at it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had used it before only in emergency.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She extended a hand and looked at it.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
and nothing more
From this reading She had used it before only in emergency.
plural of “pill” — something that resembles a tablet of medicine in shape or size
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
make steady
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
a device designed to provide additional strength
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading After the aspirins, she pushed another plunger for something for herself.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
a shaky motion
From this reading It was trembling.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading She had used it before only in emergency.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was trembling.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then she stood looking at it, a small box with three pills in her hand--Theobromine, a heart strengthener and a confidence-giving euphoric all in one, something to steady shaky nerves.
Chapter 2 of Contagion by Katherine MacLean holds 487 sentences, grouped into 98 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 487 sentences of Contagion, unabridged, divided into 98 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Contagion by Katherine MacLean exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 487 sentences, grouped into 98 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 98 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 98 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 Contagion by Katherine MacLean on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 976 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50774 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50774, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 81 minutes of reading across 196 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Contagion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Contagion 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 Contagion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
