Chapter 2 of Hand and Ring is here in full — 1893 sentences across 379 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Hand and Ring is here in full — 1893 sentences across 379 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO. I. A STARTLING COINCIDENCE. By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. --MACBETH.
Chapter 2 of Hand and Ring is here in full — 1893 sentences across 379 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/378 · 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.
an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental
From this reading “A STARTLING COINCIDENCE.”
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.”
a man of refinement
From this reading “THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO.”
king of Scotland (died in 1057)
From this reading “--MACBETH.”
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading “A STARTLING COINCIDENCE.”
plural of “thumb” — the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.”
an industrial city in northwestern Ohio on Lake Erie
From this reading “THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO.”
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.”
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.
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 A STARTLING COINCIDENCE.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental
From this reading A STARTLING COINCIDENCE.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO.
a man of refinement
From this reading THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I.
king of Scotland (died in 1057)
From this reading --MACBETH.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
the act of puncturing with a small point
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading A STARTLING COINCIDENCE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
plural of “thumb” — the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
an industrial city in northwestern Ohio on Lake Erie
From this reading THE GENTLEMAN FROM TOLEDO.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
Chapter 2 of Hand and Ring by Anna Katharine Green holds 1893 sentences, grouped into 379 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 1893 sentences of Hand and Ring, unabridged, divided into 379 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Hand and Ring by Anna Katharine Green exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1893 sentences, grouped into 379 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 379 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 379 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 Hand and Ring by Anna Katharine Green on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7693 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31681 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31681, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1539 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hand and Ring section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Hand and Ring 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 Hand and Ring, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
