Chapter 2 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance. “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.” “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves. But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.” “Like a leviathan in a fish-pond, eh?”
Chapter 2 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
(baseball) playing the position of catcher on a baseball team
From this reading “But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.””
plural of “glove” — the handwear used by fielders in playing baseball
From this reading ““Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.”
wound by piercing with a sharp or penetrating object or instrument
From this reading “Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.”
the largest or most massive thing of its kind
From this reading ““Like a leviathan in a fish-pond, eh?””
a woman of refinement
From this reading ““I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.””
bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
From this reading “Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.”
plural of “pair” — a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading ““Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.”
in a willful manner
From this reading ““I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.””
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 ““I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.””
In this reading ““Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.”
excessively large
In this reading “But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.””
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 Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
(baseball) playing the position of catcher on a baseball team
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Like a leviathan in a fish-pond, eh?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Like a leviathan in a fish-pond, eh?”
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
plural of “glove” — the handwear used by fielders in playing baseball
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
wound by piercing with a sharp or penetrating object or instrument
From this reading Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
the largest or most massive thing of its kind
From this reading “Like a leviathan in a fish-pond, eh?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Like a leviathan in a fish-pond, eh?”
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
a woman of refinement
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
From this reading Lord Gore made her a grand obeisance.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
plural of “pair” — a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
be standing; be upright
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But you are too large, my lord; we should always be catching you.”
in a willful manner
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “I will stand wilfully in the middle of the room, madam, and be caught.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Then you will have to give me three pairs of gloves.
Chapter 2 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Mad Barbara, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6545 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50995 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50995, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 545 minutes of reading across 1309 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mad Barbara section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Mad Barbara 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 Mad Barbara, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
