Chapter 2 of Deadly City is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Deadly City is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five. Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind. Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun. The hair had no predominating color. It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
Chapter 2 of Deadly City is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
being or having light colored skin and hair and usually blue or grey eyes
From this reading “It was somewhere between light brown and blond.”
small rounded bread either plain or sweet
From this reading “Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.”
a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
From this reading “The hair had no predominating color.”
lacking in variety and interest
From this reading “Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.”
cosmetics applied to the face to improve or change your appearance
From this reading “Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.”
-ing form of “predominate” — be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
From this reading “The hair had no predominating color.”
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading “Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.”
being five more than thirty
From this reading “Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.”
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.
a brown that is light but unsaturated
In this reading “It was somewhere between light brown and blond.”
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 Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
being or having light colored skin and hair and usually blue or grey eyes
From this reading It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
small rounded bread either plain or sweet
From this reading Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.
a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
From this reading The hair had no predominating color.
lacking in variety and interest
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The hair had no predominating color.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
cosmetics applied to the face to improve or change your appearance
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
not any; not one
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
by chance
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
-ing form of “predominate” — be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
From this reading The hair had no predominating color.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
in or at or to some place
From this reading It was somewhere between light brown and blond.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Her hair was drawn straight back into a bun.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The hair had no predominating color.
being five more than thirty
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Minna was a completely colorless woman of perhaps thirty-five.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading Her skin was smooth and pale and she wore no makeup of any kind.
Chapter 2 of Deadly City by Paul W. Fairman holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 427 sentences of Deadly City, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Deadly City by Paul W. Fairman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Deadly City by Paul W. Fairman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1725 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32705 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32705, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 143 minutes of reading across 345 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Deadly City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Deadly City 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 Deadly City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
