Chapter 2 of General Max Shorter is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of General Max Shorter is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke. When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone. "The natives?" he asked. "They ... had fled when we discovered the city." "Where did they flee to?"
Chapter 2 of General Max Shorter is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 special group delegated to consider some matter
From this reading “The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “"They ... had fled when we discovered the city."”
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading “"They ... had fled when we discovered the city."”
run away quickly
From this reading “"Where did they flee to?"”
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading “When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.”
plural of “native” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading “"The natives?" he asked.”
not often
From this reading “The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.”
Scottish insurgent who led the resistance to Edward I; in 1297 he gained control of Scotland briefly until Edward invaded Scotland again and defeated Wallace and subsequently executed him (1270-1305)
From this reading “The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.”
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 When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "The natives?" he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."
a special group delegated to consider some matter
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."
run away quickly
From this reading "Where did they flee to?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
a form of address for a man
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
plural of “native” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading "The natives?" he asked.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
not often
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
in or at that place or location
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Where did they flee to?"
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
Scottish insurgent who led the resistance to Edward I; in 1297 he gained control of Scotland briefly until Edward invaded Scotland again and defeated Wallace and subsequently executed him (1270-1305)
From this reading The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."
at the time that
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where did they flee to?"
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading When he did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonder in his tone.
Chapter 2 of General Max Shorter by Kris Neville holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 395 sentences of General Max Shorter, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of General Max Shorter by Kris Neville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 General Max Shorter by Kris Neville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 799 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23571 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23571, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 160 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through General Max Shorter section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of General Max Shorter 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 General Max Shorter, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
