Chapter 2 of Dick and his cat is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Dick and his cat is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry. At last he sat down on a door-step. He was too weak to run more. He had had no food all the day. It was a day in June.
Chapter 2 of Dick and his cat is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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 youthful male person
From this reading “Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.”
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.”
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading “He had had no food all the day.”
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading “It was a day in June.”
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “He was too weak to run more.”
weep convulsively
From this reading “Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.”
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading “Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “He was too weak to run more.”
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 Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
(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 He had had no food all the day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last he sat down on a door-step.
a youthful male person
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He had had no food all the day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At last he sat down on a door-step.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading He had had no food all the day.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had had no food all the day.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At last he sat down on a door-step.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a day in June.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a day in June.
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading It was a day in June.
immediately past
From this reading At last he sat down on a door-step.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He was too weak to run more.
not any; not one
From this reading He had had no food all the day.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
on one occasion
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading He was too weak to run more.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading At last he sat down on a door-step.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
weep convulsively
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He was too weak to run more.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Once on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of a town, and sob and cry.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading He was too weak to run more.
Chapter 2 of Dick and his cat by Mary Ellis holds 49 sentences, grouped into 10 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 49 sentences of Dick and his cat, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Dick and his cat by Mary Ellis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 49 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 Dick and his cat by Mary Ellis 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 Dick and his cat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Dick and his cat 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 Dick and his cat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
