Chapter 2 of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete is here in full — 7597 sentences across 1520 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete is here in full — 7597 sentences across 1520 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
take my nourishment. Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters. Interest? Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs. And oh, the poverty of invention!
Chapter 2 of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete is here in full — 7597 sentences across 1520 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/1519 · 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.
contrived by art rather than nature
From this reading “Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.”
destitute of blood or apparently so
From this reading “Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.”
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading “And oh, the poverty of invention!”
of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people
From this reading “Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.”
a source of materials to nourish the body
From this reading “take my nourishment.”
made of inferior workmanship and materials
From this reading “Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.”
plural of “skeleton” — something reduced to its minimal form
From this reading “Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.”
cover with wax
From this reading “Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.”
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.
(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 Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And oh, the poverty of invention!
contrived by art rather than nature
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
destitute of blood or apparently so
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
plural of “figure” — a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Interest?
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading And oh, the poverty of invention!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading take my nourishment.
a source of materials to nourish the body
From this reading take my nourishment.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And oh, the poverty of invention!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading And oh, the poverty of invention!
the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions
From this reading And oh, the poverty of invention!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
made of inferior workmanship and materials
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
plural of “skeleton” — something reduced to its minimal form
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
carry out
From this reading take my nourishment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And oh, the poverty of invention!
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
cover with wax
From this reading Lord, it's all so juvenile! so artificial, so shoddy; & such wax figures & skeletons & specters.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, it is impossible to feel an interest in these bloodless shams, these milk-&-water humbugs.
Chapter 2 of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete by Albert Bigelow Paine holds 7597 sentences, grouped into 1520 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 7597 sentences of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete, unabridged, divided into 1520 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete by Albert Bigelow Paine exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 7597 sentences, grouped into 1520 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 1520 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 1520 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 Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete by Albert Bigelow Paine on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 20068 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2988 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2988, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 4014 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete 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 Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
