Chapter 2 of Impressions and experiences is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Impressions and experiences is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness? I should like to ask the defendant a query or two. Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?” “Sor?” “How often do you drink?”
Chapter 2 of Impressions and experiences is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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 person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
From this reading “I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.”
a temporary state resulting from excessive consumption of alcohol
From this reading ““The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?”
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading ““The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?”
a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
From this reading ““The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?”
give free rein to
From this reading “Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?””
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading ““The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?”
an instance of questioning
From this reading “I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.”
relating to human society and its members
From this reading “Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?””
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 I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
take in liquids
From this reading “How often do you drink?”
a temporary state resulting from excessive consumption of alcohol
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
give free rein to
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
many times at short intervals
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
an instance of questioning
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
relating to human society and its members
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Sor?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading I should like to ask the defendant a query or two.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “The question, your honor,” the lawyer added, turning to the judge, “is, what _is_ habitual drunkenness?
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Now, Mr. O’Ryan, how often do you indulge yourself in a social glass?”
Chapter 2 of Impressions and experiences by William Dean Howells holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 440 sentences of Impressions and experiences, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Impressions and experiences by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Impressions and experiences by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2209 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66257 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66257, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 184 minutes of reading across 442 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Impressions and experiences section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Impressions and experiences 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 Impressions and experiences, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
