Chapter 2 of Occasion ... for Disaster is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Occasion ... for Disaster is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Boyd blinked. "How?" he said. "Obvious," Malone said. "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over. It's the same pattern.
Chapter 2 of Occasion ... for Disaster is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
past form of “blink” — briefly shut the eyes
From this reading “Boyd blinked.”
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “"Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.”
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading “"Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.”
happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface
From this reading “"Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.”
English scholar remembered for his chronology of Shakespeare's plays and his editions of Shakespeare and Dryden (1741-1812)
From this reading “"Obvious," Malone said.”
easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
From this reading “"Obvious," Malone said.”
a perceptual structure
From this reading “It's the same pattern.”
lack of agreement or harmony
From this reading “"Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.”
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 the same pattern.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
past form of “blink” — briefly shut the eyes
From this reading Boyd blinked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Boyd blinked.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
the act of departing
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "How?" he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How?" he said.
happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's the same pattern.
English scholar remembered for his chronology of Shakespeare's plays and his editions of Shakespeare and Dryden (1741-1812)
From this reading "Obvious," Malone said.
easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
From this reading "Obvious," Malone said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
above and across; more than
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
a perceptual structure
From this reading It's the same pattern.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "How?" he said.
Identical; not different.
From this reading It's the same pattern.
lack of agreement or harmony
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It's the same pattern.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Strife brought on by internal confusion--that's what's going on all over.
Chapter 2 of Occasion ... for Disaster by Randall Garrett holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of Occasion ... for Disaster, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Occasion ... for Disaster by Randall Garrett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Occasion ... for Disaster by Randall Garrett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6068 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30434, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 505 minutes of reading across 1214 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Occasion ... for Disaster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Occasion ... for Disaster 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 Occasion ... for Disaster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
