Chapter 2 of Madcap is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Madcap is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened. "What a dreadful person! Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?" "We made out very nicely, thank you." "Hilda was right.
Chapter 2 of Madcap is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading “"What a dreadful person!”
not producing an intended effect
From this reading “THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.”
large luxurious car; usually driven by a chauffeur
From this reading “THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.”
in a nice way
From this reading “"We made out very nicely, thank you."”
coated with paint
From this reading “Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"”
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “"We made out very nicely, thank you."”
plural of “vial” — a small bottle that contains a drug (especially a sealed sterile container for injection by needle)
From this reading “THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.”
intense anger (usually on an epic scale)
From this reading “THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.”
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 "What a dreadful person!
(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 Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading "What a dreadful person!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
only a very short time before
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hilda was right.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
not producing an intended effect
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
large luxurious car; usually driven by a chauffeur
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "We made out very nicely, thank you."
in a nice way
From this reading "We made out very nicely, thank you."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "We made out very nicely, thank you."
coated with paint
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
a human being
From this reading "What a dreadful person!
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Hilda was right.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "We made out very nicely, thank you."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
precisely as stated
From this reading "We made out very nicely, thank you."
plural of “vial” — a small bottle that contains a drug (especially a sealed sterile container for injection by needle)
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Hilda was right.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We made out very nicely, thank you."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What a dreadful person!
during the time that
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
intense anger (usually on an epic scale)
From this reading THE INEFFECTUAL AUNT The two women had hardly reached the limousine before the vials of Hermia's wrath were opened.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Olga, how could you have stood him all the while he painted you?"
Chapter 2 of Madcap by George Gibbs holds 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 235 sentences of Madcap, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Madcap by George Gibbs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Madcap by George Gibbs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6689 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11584 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11584, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 557 minutes of reading across 1338 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Madcap section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Madcap 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 Madcap, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
