Chapter 2 of Stand Pat is here in full — 467 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Stand Pat is here in full — 467 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.” “It was,” said Stumpy. “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?” Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling. “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
Chapter 2 of Stand Pat is here in full — 467 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 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.
past form of “chew” — chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
From this reading “Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.””
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.””
inflected form of “defy” — resist or confront with resistance
From this reading “Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling.”
wood that is floating or that has been washed ashore
From this reading “Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.””
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading ““They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.”
an area that includes places where several people can sit
From this reading “Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.””
forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage
From this reading “Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling.”
plural of “stranger” — anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading ““Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?””
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 “Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.””
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 Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
a thick and heavy shoe
From this reading Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling.
past form of “chew” — chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
inflected form of “defy” — resist or confront with resistance
From this reading Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
wood that is floating or that has been washed ashore
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
a separate part of a whole
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It was,” said Stumpy.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
an area that includes places where several people can sit
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage
From this reading Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
plural of “stranger” — anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
short and thick; as e.g. having short legs and heavy musculature
From this reading “It was,” said Stumpy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Stumpy’s brogue defied spelling.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’ll be dead if they do,” said Sam.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “Is thim two strangers stayin’ here long, I don’t know?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Seating himself on a piece of driftwood, he chewed the end of his cigar for a time, and then observed: “It was a large night.”
Chapter 2 of Stand Pat by David A. Curtis holds 467 sentences, grouped into 94 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 467 sentences of Stand Pat, unabridged, divided into 94 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Stand Pat by David A. Curtis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 467 sentences, grouped into 94 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 94 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 94 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 Stand Pat by David A. Curtis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2322 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51760 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51760, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 193 minutes of reading across 465 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stand Pat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Stand Pat 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 Stand Pat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
