Chapter 2 of Nobody's Man is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 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 Man is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Very soon tea was brought in. The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation. It was she who provided the opening. "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired. Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
Chapter 2 of Nobody's Man is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.”
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading “The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.”
a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading “Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.”
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading “The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.”
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading “The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.”
past form of “provide” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading “It was she who provided the opening.”
possessive form of “robert” — United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading “The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.”
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading “Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Very soon tea was brought in.
clothing in general
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Very soon tea was brought in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was she who provided the opening.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading It was she who provided the opening.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
past form of “provide” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading It was she who provided the opening.
possessive form of “robert” — United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was she who provided the opening.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
in the near future
From this reading Very soon tea was brought in.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading Very soon tea was brought in.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading Tallente looked at his guest thoughtfully.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The homely service of the meal, and Robert's plain clothes, seemed to demand some sort of explanation.
precisely as stated
From this reading Very soon tea was brought in.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Very soon tea was brought in.
which person or people
From this reading It was she who provided the opening.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Will your wife be long away?" she enquired.
Chapter 2 of Nobody's Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 176 sentences of Nobody's Man, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Nobody's Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5556 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17356 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17356, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 463 minutes of reading across 1112 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nobody's Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Nobody's Man 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 Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
