Chapter 2 of Streets of Night is here in full — 419 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 Streets of Night is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"How delicious. The Fadettes!" "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly. "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl. "Must you, dear?" said Nancibel automatically.
Chapter 2 of Streets of Night is here in full — 419 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.
in a reflex manner
From this reading “"Must you, dear?" said Nancibel automatically.”
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “"Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.”
dearly loved
From this reading “"Must you, dear?" said Nancibel automatically.”
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading “"How delicious.”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “"Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.”
a young female
From this reading “"Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.”
in a gruff manner
From this reading “"Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “"Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.”
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.
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
in a reflex manner
From this reading "Must you, dear?" said Nancibel automatically.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
dearly loved
From this reading "Must you, dear?" said Nancibel automatically.
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading "How delicious.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Fadettes!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.
a young female
From this reading "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.
in a gruff manner
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How delicious.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Fitzie's an awful fool, but I like her," said Nancibel gruffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Fadettes!"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Susan, we must go," said the fuzzy-haired girl.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Must you, dear?" said Nancibel automatically.
Chapter 2 of Streets of Night by John Dos Passos holds 419 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 419 sentences of Streets of Night, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Streets of Night by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 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 Streets of Night by John Dos Passos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5133 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61395 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61395, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 427 minutes of reading across 1027 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Streets of Night section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Streets of Night 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 Streets of Night, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
