Chapter 2 of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But when do you mean to walk? You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?" "Only this one day: you can do without me this one day. I cannot leave off now, indeed." "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
Chapter 2 of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading “You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"”
the queen of Castile whose marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 marked the beginning of the modern state of Spain; they instituted the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 and sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1492 (1451-1504)
From this reading “"O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!”
absolutely essential
From this reading “"O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!”
many times at short intervals
From this reading “"O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!”
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"”
plural of “trifle” — a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading “"O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “"But when do you mean to walk?”
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Only this one day: you can do without me this one day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I cannot leave off now, indeed."
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
destroyed or killed
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
where you live at a particular time
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I cannot leave off now, indeed."
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading I cannot leave off now, indeed."
the queen of Castile whose marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 marked the beginning of the modern state of Spain; they instituted the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 and sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1492 (1451-1504)
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
go away from a place
From this reading I cannot leave off now, indeed."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Only this one day: you can do without me this one day.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
absolutely essential
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I cannot leave off now, indeed."
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 "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I cannot leave off now, indeed."
many times at short intervals
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Only this one day: you can do without me this one day.
and nothing more
From this reading "Only this one day: you can do without me this one day.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading You do not, surely, mean to stay at home this beautiful day?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
plural of “trifle” — a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
at the time that
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
in the company of; together with
From this reading "O, Isabella, how often have I gone with you when I had much more necessary things than these trifles to do at home!
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "Only this one day: you can do without me this one day.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But when do you mean to walk?
Chapter 2 of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family by Harriet Martineau holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family by Harriet Martineau exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family by Harriet Martineau on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1668 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23131 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23131, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 139 minutes of reading across 334 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family 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 Principle and Practice: The Orphan Family, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
