Chapter 2 of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Thought and action became one. He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position. Almost instantly he regretted the effort. A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head. The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
Chapter 2 of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk is here in full — 403 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.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading “Thought and action became one.”
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading “Almost instantly he regretted the effort.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “Almost instantly he regretted the effort.”
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.”
inflected form of “regret” — feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
From this reading “Almost instantly he regretted the effort.”
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.”
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading “The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.”
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 “He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.”
to cause inconvenience or discomfort to
In this reading “He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.”
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 He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading Thought and action became one.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Almost instantly he regretted the effort.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Thought and action became one.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Thought and action became one.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading Almost instantly he regretted the effort.
the act of departing
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
ten 10s
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Almost instantly he regretted the effort.
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Thought and action became one.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
inflected form of “regret” — feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
From this reading Almost instantly he regretted the effort.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Almost instantly he regretted the effort.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Thought and action became one.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He put out his hands and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading The night and the stars began to whirl madly about him.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading A hundred trip-hammers started going to work on the inside of his head.
Chapter 2 of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk by Robert Sidney Bowen holds 403 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 403 sentences of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk by Robert Sidney Bowen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 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 Dave Dawson at Dunkirk by Robert Sidney Bowen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4495 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32440 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32440, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 374 minutes of reading across 899 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dave Dawson at Dunkirk section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Dave Dawson at Dunkirk 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 Dave Dawson at Dunkirk, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
