Chapter 2 of Polite Satires is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Polite Satires is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A VOICE (_behind the screen_). Marry him at your peril! DOROTHEA (_not hearing_). He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love.... Some people can.
Chapter 2 of Polite Satires is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
at or toward the back of something
(law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
take in marriage
From this reading “Marry him at your peril!”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “Marry him at your peril!”
a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
From this reading “He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....”
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “A VOICE (_behind the screen_).”
the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money
From this reading “He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....”
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 “A VOICE (_behind the screen_).”
In this reading “Some people can.”
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 A VOICE (_behind the screen_).
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Marry him at your peril!
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
at or toward the back of something
From this reading A VOICE (_behind the screen_).
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Some people can.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DOROTHEA (_not hearing_).
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
(law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
From this reading DOROTHEA (_not hearing_).
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Marry him at your peril!
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
take in marriage
From this reading Marry him at your peril!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading DOROTHEA (_not hearing_).
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Some people can.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading Marry him at your peril!
a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading A VOICE (_behind the screen_).
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some people can.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A VOICE (_behind the screen_).
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading A VOICE (_behind the screen_).
the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
but in spite of that
From this reading He's a man Of wealth and rank--an O.B.E.--and yet To marry without love....
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Marry him at your peril!
Chapter 2 of Polite Satires by Clifford Bax holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 394 sentences of Polite Satires, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Polite Satires by Clifford Bax exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Polite Satires by Clifford Bax on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1236 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49993 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49993, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 103 minutes of reading across 248 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Polite Satires section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Polite Satires 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 Polite Satires, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
