Chapter 2 of Second Plays is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Second Plays is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WOODCUTTER. After all, I'm just as bad as you. Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess. PRINCESS. Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
Chapter 2 of Second Plays is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “After all, I'm just as bad as you.”
make a break in
From this reading “Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.”
being nothing more than specified
From this reading “Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.”
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading “Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.”
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading “Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.”
A person whose work is chopping down trees and gathering firewood.
From this reading “WOODCUTTER.”
the day immediately before today
From this reading “Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.”
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 Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
later than; following
From this reading After all, I'm just as bad as you.
(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 After all, I'm just as bad as you.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading After all, I'm just as bad as you.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading After all, I'm just as bad as you.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After all, I'm just as bad as you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
make a break in
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
and nothing more
From this reading After all, I'm just as bad as you.
being nothing more than specified
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
and nothing more
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
a source of difficulty
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
disregarding your own advantages and welfare over those of others
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
A person whose work is chopping down trees and gathering firewood.
From this reading WOODCUTTER.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
the day immediately before today
From this reading Only yesterday I was thinking to myself how unselfish I was to interrupt my work in order to talk to a mere Princess.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading After all, I'm just as bad as you.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Yes, but the trouble is that you _don't_ interrupt your work.
Chapter 2 of Second Plays by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 397 sentences of Second Plays, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Second Plays by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Second Plays by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Second Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Second Plays 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 Second Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
