Chapter 2 of Meeting of the Minds is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Meeting of the Minds is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said. "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground. The cache must have sunk." "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud. "Nope," Sorensen said.
Chapter 2 of Meeting of the Minds is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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.
a telegram sent abroad
From this reading “"It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.”
a hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons)
From this reading “The cache must have sunk."”
any device that receives a signal or stimulus (as heat or pressure or light or motion etc.) and responds to it in a distinctive manner
From this reading “"Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.”
the act of digging
From this reading “"Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.”
Danish chemist who devised the pH scale (1868-1939)
From this reading “"Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.”
causing physical or especially psychological injury
From this reading “"It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “The cache must have sunk."”
(of soil) soft and watery
From this reading “"Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.”
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 “"It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.”
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's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
with anger
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
a telegram sent abroad
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
a hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons)
From this reading The cache must have sunk."
any device that receives a signal or stimulus (as heat or pressure or light or motion etc.) and responds to it in a distinctive manner
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
the act of digging
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
having the sticky properties of an adhesive
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The cache must have sunk."
ten 10s
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
water soaked soil; soft wet earth
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The cache must have sunk."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nope," Sorensen said.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
Danish chemist who devised the pH scale (1868-1939)
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
causing physical or especially psychological injury
From this reading "It's probably a hundred feet down," Cable said, stabbing angrily at the gluey mud.
doomed to extinction
From this reading The cache must have sunk."
(of soil) soft and watery
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Trouble is, we're digging in swampy ground.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading "Nothing wrong with the detector," Sorensen said.
Chapter 2 of Meeting of the Minds by Robert Sheckley holds 461 sentences, grouped into 93 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 461 sentences of Meeting of the Minds, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Meeting of the Minds by Robert Sheckley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 461 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 Meeting of the Minds by Robert Sheckley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1382 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51833 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51833, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 115 minutes of reading across 277 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Meeting of the Minds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Meeting of the Minds 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 Meeting of the Minds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
