Chapter 2 of Plane and Plank is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Plane and Plank is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP. Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started. The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected. "Where is the landing-place?" I asked, as we entered the town.
Chapter 2 of Plane and Plank is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
past form of “erect” — construct, build, or erect
From this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
the state or fact of existing
From this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
plural of “meet” — a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
From this reading “IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.”
an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate
From this reading “IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.”
the people who inhabit a territory or state
From this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
of considerable importance, size, or worth
From this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
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 “Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.”
In this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
In this reading “The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.”
In this reading “IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.”
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 Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked, as we entered the town.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading I asked, as we entered the town.
past form of “erect” — construct, build, or erect
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
the state or fact of existing
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
recently made, produced, or harvested
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Where is the landing-place?"
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Where is the landing-place?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
plural of “meet” — a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
the people who inhabit a territory or state
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
of considerable importance, size, or worth
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
at the time that
From this reading Four miles was a short walk to me, and when we reached Leavenworth, I was as fresh as when we started.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where is the landing-place?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
in the company of; together with
From this reading IN WHICH PHIL MEETS WITH HIS FIRST MISHAP.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading The town, then in the third year of its existence, had a population of two thousand, and some substantial buildings had already been erected.
Chapter 2 of Plane and Plank by Oliver Optic holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 153 sentences of Plane and Plank, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Plane and Plank by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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.
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About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Plane and Plank section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Plane and Plank 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 Plane and Plank, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
