Chapter 2 of "Old Scrooge" is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of "Old Scrooge" is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years. _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now. _Spir._ What is the matter? _Scro._ Nothing; nothing. There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
Chapter 2 of "Old Scrooge" is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.”
the lap consisting of a turned-back hem encircling the end of the sleeve or leg
-ing form of “dry” — remove the moisture from and make dry
From this reading “_Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.”
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading “_Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.”
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “_Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.”
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.”
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 “_Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.”
In this reading “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.”
In this reading “_Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.”
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 There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
(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 There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
a youthful male person
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
the lap consisting of a turned-back hem encircling the end of the sleeve or leg
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
-ing form of “dry” — remove the moisture from and make dry
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
opinion or judgment
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Spir._ What is the matter?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
immediately past
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading _Spir._ What is the matter?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading _Scro._ Nothing; nothing.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Spir._ What is the matter?
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door, last night, I should like to have given him something, that's all.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading _Spir._ What is the matter?
hope for; have a wish
From this reading _Scro._ (_Putting his hand in his pocket and drying his eyes on his cuff_) I wish--but it's too late now.
a late time of life
From this reading _Spir._ Strange to have forgotten this for so many years.
Chapter 2 of "Old Scrooge" by Charles Augustus Scott holds 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 442 sentences of "Old Scrooge", unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of "Old Scrooge" by Charles Augustus Scott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 "Old Scrooge" by Charles Augustus Scott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1318 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40729 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40729, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 109 minutes of reading across 264 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through "Old Scrooge" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of "Old Scrooge" 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 "Old Scrooge", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
