Chapter 2 of Nobody's Child is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Nobody's Child is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting. "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically. Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion. "What you sayin'?" "He broke his leg, Ben."
Chapter 2 of Nobody's Child is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “"Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.”
commanding attention
From this reading “Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.”
in a very impressive manner
From this reading “"Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.”
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading “"He broke his leg, Ben."”
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading “Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.”
uttered with a trill
From this reading “Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.”
of a light brownish color
From this reading “"Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.”
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading “Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.”
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.
search anxiously
In this reading “Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.”
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 Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
commanding attention
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
lacking funds
From this reading "He broke his leg, Ben."
put or send forth
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
in a very impressive manner
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He broke his leg, Ben."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading "He broke his leg, Ben."
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
uttered with a trill
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What you sayin'?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
of a light brownish color
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ben, Garvin Westmore's sorrel is dead," she announced dramatically.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What you sayin'?"
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Ben stopped both his work and his rolling motion.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Ann had cast about in her mind for a topic that would be arresting.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What you sayin'?"
Chapter 2 of Nobody's Child by Elizabeth Dejeans holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 425 sentences of Nobody's Child, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Nobody's Child by Elizabeth Dejeans exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Nobody's Child by Elizabeth Dejeans on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5135 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36531 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36531, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 427 minutes of reading across 1027 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nobody's Child section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Nobody's Child 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 Nobody's Child, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
