Chapter 2 of Left Half Harmon is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Left Half Harmon is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
KIDNAPPED! “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later. “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.” Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head. “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
Chapter 2 of Left Half Harmon is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading ““Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.”
reserved in advance
From this reading ““I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.”
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading ““Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.””
being ten more than thirty
From this reading ““Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.”
inflected form of “kidnap” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading “KIDNAPPED!”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.”
possessive form of “station” — a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
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.
In this reading ““Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.”
leave a vehicle, aircraft, etc.
In this reading ““Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.””
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
reserved in advance
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
inflected form of “kidnap” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading KIDNAPPED!
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
possessive form of “station” — a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “I’d like to, but I’m booked up the line.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, our station’s next,” said Bob some forty minutes later.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Better change your mind, Harmon, and get off with us.”
Chapter 2 of Left Half Harmon by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 159 sentences of Left Half Harmon, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Left Half Harmon by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Left Half Harmon by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4483 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47226 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47226, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 373 minutes of reading across 897 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Left Half Harmon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Left Half Harmon 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 Left Half Harmon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
