Chapter 2 of Puppets at Large 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 Puppets at Large is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. MAYCUP. A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know? MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_. (_She produces a bag_).
Chapter 2 of Puppets at Large 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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.”
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading “A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?”
of a color at the end of the color spectrum (next to orange); resembling the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies
From this reading “MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.”
come to pass
From this reading “A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?”
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.”
plural of “produce” — fresh fruits and vegetable grown for the market
From this reading “(_She produces a bag_).”
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading “MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.”
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading “MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.”
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--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?”
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--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
(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 MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
of a color at the end of the color spectrum (next to orange); resembling the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
come to pass
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
and nothing more
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MAYCUP.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
not any; not one
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
a decoration or adornment on a garment
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
used of competitive activities in which only women take part
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
plural of “produce” — fresh fruits and vegetable grown for the market
From this reading (_She produces a bag_).
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading (_She produces a bag_).
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
precisely as stated
From this reading MISS DE M. I _had_ some very pretty ones; but I'm afraid they're all--oh, no, there's just _one_ left--crimson velvet and real _passementerie_.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A--you _don't_ happen to have a small bag to hold a powder-puff, and so on, you know?
Chapter 2 of Puppets at Large by F. Anstey 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 Puppets at Large, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Puppets at Large by F. Anstey 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 Puppets at Large by F. Anstey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3281 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37449 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37449, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 273 minutes of reading across 657 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Puppets at Large section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Puppets at Large 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 Puppets at Large, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
