Chapter 2 of Humbug 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 Humbug is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"She's busy, dear." "But Nurse is with Vonnie too. Is Vonnie so very, very ill?" "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue. "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
Chapter 2 of Humbug 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “"She's busy, dear."”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “Is Vonnie so very, very ill?"”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “"Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “"But Nurse is with Vonnie too.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “"Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “"What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!”
in a singular manner or to a singular degree
From this reading “"Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.”
not according with the facts
From this reading “"Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.”
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 youthful female person
In this reading “"What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!”
In this reading “"Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.”
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 "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading "She's busy, dear."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But Nurse is with Vonnie too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
dearly loved
From this reading "She's busy, dear."
a young female
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading Is Vonnie so very, very ill?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "But Nurse is with Vonnie too.
the sound of laughing
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading "But Nurse is with Vonnie too.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She's busy, dear."
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
in a singular manner or to a singular degree
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Is Vonnie so very, very ill?"
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "But Nurse is with Vonnie too.
not according with the facts
From this reading "Ha, ha!" said Miss Cleeve with a laugh that rang singularly untrue.
precisely as stated
From this reading Is Vonnie so very, very ill?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But Nurse is with Vonnie too.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What a silly little girl to talk like that, now!
in the company of; together with
From this reading "But Nurse is with Vonnie too.
Chapter 2 of Humbug by E. M. Delafield 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 Humbug, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Humbug by E. M. Delafield 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 Humbug by E. M. Delafield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5539 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74452 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74452, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 461 minutes of reading across 1108 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Humbug section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Humbug 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 Humbug, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
