Chapter 2 of Over the Sliprails is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Over the Sliprails is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down. “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.” He nudged Smith to come to the point. Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?” “I thought I told you!
Chapter 2 of Over the Sliprails is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
developed or executed with care and in minute detail
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
plural of “fern” — any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
past form of “nudge” — to push against gently
From this reading “He nudged Smith to come to the point.”
moving as on a slippery surface
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
a worker engaged in making steel
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
in a wary manner
From this reading “Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.”
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 Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He nudged Smith to come to the point.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
developed or executed with care and in minute detail
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
the organ of sight
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
plural of “fern” — any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He nudged Smith to come to the point.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I thought I told you!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
past form of “nudge” — to push against gently
From this reading He nudged Smith to come to the point.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
on one occasion
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading He nudged Smith to come to the point.
in the near future
From this reading Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?”
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?”
moving as on a slippery surface
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading He nudged Smith to come to the point.
a worker engaged in making steel
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
in a sulky manner
From this reading Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?”
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought I told you!
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I thought I told you!
two times
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
in a wary manner
From this reading Steelman elaborated to a climax, slipping a glance warily, once or twice, out of the tail of his eye through the ferns, low down.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There never was a fortune made that wasn't made by chancing it.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Presently Smith asked, sulkily: “Well, what was he saying?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I thought I told you!
Chapter 2 of Over the Sliprails by Henry Lawson holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 192 sentences of Over the Sliprails, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Over the Sliprails by Henry Lawson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Over the Sliprails by Henry Lawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2582 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1313 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1313, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 215 minutes of reading across 517 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Over the Sliprails section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Over the Sliprails 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 Over the Sliprails, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
