Chapter 2 of Taking Tales is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Taking Tales is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight. You must come. You will never have seen such sport in your life. There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel." "No, no, Ben; I must go home," said James.
Chapter 2 of Taking Tales is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “"James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.”
plural of “chap” — a boy or man
From this reading “There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “"James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.”
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading “There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."”
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading “There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."”
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
From this reading “You will never have seen such sport in your life.”
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading “There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."”
On the present night.
From this reading “"James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.”
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.
(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 There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
plural of “chap” — a boy or man
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading You must come.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "No, no, Ben; I must go home," said James.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "No, no, Ben; I must go home," said James.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading You must come.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, no, Ben; I must go home," said James.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
On the present night.
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There are six other chaps will join us, all true as steel."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "James," said Ben, "I have some work for tonight.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You must come.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You will never have seen such sport in your life.
Chapter 2 of Taking Tales by William Henry Giles Kingston holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 406 sentences of Taking Tales, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Taking Tales by William Henry Giles Kingston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Taking Tales by William Henry Giles Kingston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5299 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23577 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23577, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 441 minutes of reading across 1060 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Taking Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Taking Tales 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 Taking Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
