Chapter 2 of In the Days of the Comet is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of In the Days of the Comet is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion. Some clock was striking midnight. After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions. I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep. But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
Chapter 2 of In the Days of the Comet is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.”
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “Some clock was striking midnight.”
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading “I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.”
determined or actuated by emotion rather than reason
From this reading “Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.”
extreme fatigue
From this reading “Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.”
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading “I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.”
plural of “transition” — the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading “After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.”
of lumber or stone or hides; not finished or dressed
From this reading “I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.”
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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
later than; following
From this reading After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
anew
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
(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 After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
in a state of sleep
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading Some clock was striking midnight.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
determined or actuated by emotion rather than reason
From this reading Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.
extreme fatigue
From this reading Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
only a very short time before
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading Some clock was striking midnight.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
with speed
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
To recall to mind.
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some clock was striking midnight.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading Some clock was striking midnight.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But how my mother slept that night I do not know.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
having come into contact
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
plural of “transition” — the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
of lumber or stone or hides; not finished or dressed
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Suddenly I came upon emotional exhaustion.
precisely as stated
From this reading I remember quite distinctly, I stood up abruptly, undressed very quickly in the dark, and had hardly touched my pillow again before I was asleep.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Some clock was striking midnight.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading After all, I was young; I had these quick transitions.
Chapter 2 of In the Days of the Comet by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 409 sentences of In the Days of the Comet, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of In the Days of the Comet by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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.
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Yes. All 5079 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3797 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3797, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 423 minutes of reading across 1016 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Days of the Comet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of In the Days of the Comet 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 In the Days of the Comet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
