Chapter 14 of Mark Twain — Part 2 is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Mark Twain — Part 2 is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year. I have wrinkled. Most of the time I want to lie down and cry. Everything seems to me so impossible. I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
Chapter 14 of Mark Twain — Part 2 is here in full — 156 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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading “I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.”
an act that fails
From this reading “I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.”
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.”
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading “Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.”
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading “Everything seems to me so impossible.”
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading “Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.”
institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
From this reading “Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.”
marked by wrinkles
From this reading “I have wrinkled.”
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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything seems to me so impossible.
an act that fails
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading Everything seems to me so impossible.
impossible to recover or recoup or overcome
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
immediately past
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
engage in
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Everything seems to me so impossible.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Everything seems to me so impossible.
institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
precisely as stated
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Most of the time I want to lie down and cry.
(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 I do not make things go very well, and I feel that my life is an absolute and irretrievable failure.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
marked by wrinkles
From this reading I have wrinkled.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Sue, if you were to see me you would see that I have grown old very fast during this last year.
Chapter 14 of Mark Twain — Part 2 by Albert Bigelow Paine holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 14 holds 156 sentences of Mark Twain — Part 2, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Mark Twain — Part 2 by Albert Bigelow Paine exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 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 14 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 — Part 2 by Albert Bigelow Paine on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4136 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2985 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2985, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 828 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mark Twain — Part 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Mark Twain — Part 2 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 — Part 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
