Chapter 2 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?” “Not one cent.” “I helped you to earn that money.” “Yes.” “And you refuse to give me any, and you are going away?”
Chapter 2 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
plural of “bag” — a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading ““You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?””
a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading ““Not one cent.””
earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
From this reading ““I helped you to earn that money.””
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading ““You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?””
coins made of gold
From this reading ““You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?””
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading ““I helped you to earn that money.””
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading ““I helped you to earn that money.””
show unwillingness towards
From this reading ““You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?””
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.
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 “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “And you refuse to give me any, and you are going away?”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “And you refuse to give me any, and you are going away?”
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “And you refuse to give me any, and you are going away?”
plural of “bag” — a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading “Not one cent.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
From this reading “I helped you to earn that money.”
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
the act of departing
From this reading “And you refuse to give me any, and you are going away?”
coins made of gold
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “I helped you to earn that money.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I helped you to earn that money.”
and nothing more
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading “I helped you to earn that money.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not one cent.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “Not one cent.”
show unwillingness towards
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I helped you to earn that money.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You have bags of gold, and do you refuse to give me just a little?”
Chapter 2 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist by Old Sleuth holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist by Old Sleuth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist by Old Sleuth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3071 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67179 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67179, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist 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 Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
