Chapter 2 of Shaming the Speed Limit is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Shaming the Speed Limit is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ROMANCE JUSTIFIED. “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree. “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good. If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.” “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
Chapter 2 of Shaming the Speed Limit is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow
From this reading “If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.””
plural of “chunk” — a compact mass
From this reading “If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.””
past form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading “If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.””
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading “If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.””
greatly annoyed; out of patience
From this reading ““Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.”
having words so spaced that lines have straight even margins
From this reading “ROMANCE JUSTIFIED.”
great merriment
From this reading ““Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.”
bring under control by force or authority
From this reading ““Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.”
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 “If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.””
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.
biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
plural of “chunk” — a compact mass
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
past form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
dearly loved
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
greatly annoyed; out of patience
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
having words so spaced that lines have straight even margins
From this reading ROMANCE JUSTIFIED.
the sound of laughing
From this reading “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
a gay feeling
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
great merriment
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
a relationship between two lovers
From this reading ROMANCE JUSTIFIED.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
and nothing more
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
past form of “succeed” — attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
express a supposition
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
bring under control by force or authority
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading “Go to it!” said the exasperated man in the tree.
hard to endure
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
during the time that
From this reading “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, dear!” gasped Miss Wiggin, trying to suppress her mirth.
in the company of; together with
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If your confounded dog had succeeded in chewing some chunks out of me, I suppose you’d simply have collapsed with merriment.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Get in your laugh while the laughing’s good.
Chapter 2 of Shaming the Speed Limit by Burt L. Standish holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 129 sentences of Shaming the Speed Limit, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Shaming the Speed Limit by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Shaming the Speed Limit by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 777 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65914 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65914, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 64 minutes of reading across 156 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shaming the Speed Limit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Shaming the Speed Limit 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 Shaming the Speed Limit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
