Chapter 2 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It grew late. The uncle did not return. At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother. The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it. In vain he whispered, “Cor, Cor!”
Chapter 2 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
(Greek mythology) daughter of Zeus and Demeter; made queen of the underworld by Pluto in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Proserpina
From this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
a small house with a single story
From this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
inclined or able to forgive and show mercy
From this reading “The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.”
let have
From this reading “The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading “The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.”
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.
institute, enact, or establish
In this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
In this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
In this reading “The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.”
melt, break, or become otherwise unusable
In this reading “At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.”
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 The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
next to; at the side of
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In vain he whispered, “Cor, Cor!”
(Greek mythology) daughter of Zeus and Demeter; made queen of the underworld by Pluto in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Proserpina
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
a small house with a single story
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The uncle did not return.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
a boy or man
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
inclined or able to forgive and show mercy
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
let have
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading It grew late.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In vain he whispered, “Cor, Cor!”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In vain he whispered, “Cor, Cor!”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It grew late.
immediately past
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading It grew late.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The uncle did not return.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading The uncle did not return.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
sullen or moody
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The uncle did not return.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading The uncle did not return.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading In vain he whispered, “Cor, Cor!”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading At last Cora, sulky and weary, locked the cottage door, blew out her candle, and lay down beside her brother.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading In vain he whispered, “Cor, Cor!”
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading The poor little fellow tried to win a forgiving word, but she was too ill-natured to grant it.
Chapter 2 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools by Frederick Houk [Editor] Law holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 395 sentences of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools by Frederick Houk [Editor] Law exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools by Frederick Houk [Editor] Law on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6555 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62942 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62942, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 546 minutes of reading across 1311 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools 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 Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
