Chapter 2 of Longshanks is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Longshanks is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight. It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start. The steamboat! It left at eight. He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
Chapter 2 of Longshanks is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading “Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.”
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading “Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.”
covered with water
From this reading “Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.”
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading “He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.”
a boat propelled by a steam engine
From this reading “The steamboat!”
exuding a bodily fluid in profuse amounts
From this reading “Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.”
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.”
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 “He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.”
cause to become awake or conscious
In this reading “It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.”
In this reading “Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.”
In this reading “He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.”
In this reading “It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.”
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 It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
later than; following
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It left at eight.
completely unclothed
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
being one more than seven
From this reading It left at eight.
opinion or judgment
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
covered with water
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
set up or found
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading It left at eight.
not fanciful or imaginative
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
and nothing more
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
a boat propelled by a steam engine
From this reading The steamboat!
exuding a bodily fluid in profuse amounts
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
look attentively
From this reading He reached for his big silver watch under the pillow, and found to his relief that it was only a few minutes after six.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Bright April sunshine, streaming in the window of the room, flooded the bare walls with matter-of-fact daylight.
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading It shone in Tad’s eyes, and he woke up with a start.
Chapter 2 of Longshanks by Stephen W. (Stephen Warren) Meader holds 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 118 sentences of Longshanks, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Longshanks by Stephen W. (Stephen Warren) Meader exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 Longshanks by Stephen W. (Stephen Warren) Meader on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3187 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75520 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75520, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 265 minutes of reading across 638 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Longshanks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Longshanks 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 Longshanks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
