Chapter 2 of The Bishop's Apron is here in full — 420 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 The Bishop's Apron is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Yes, sir.” “They’re very difficult things to cut. So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters. Fine day, isn’t it? Good-morning.”
Chapter 2 of The Bishop's Apron is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading ““They’re very difficult things to cut.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading ““They’re very difficult things to cut.”
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “Fine day, isn’t it?”
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.”
term of address for a man
From this reading ““Yes, sir.””
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading ““They’re very difficult things to cut.”
be dressed in
From this reading “So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.”
an affirmative
From this reading ““Yes, sir.””
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 “Fine day, isn’t it?”
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.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading “They’re very difficult things to cut.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Fine day, isn’t it?
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “They’re very difficult things to cut.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading Fine day, isn’t it?
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Good-morning.”
not the right size or shape
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fine day, isn’t it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Fine day, isn’t it?
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
term of address for a man
From this reading “Yes, sir.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’re very difficult things to cut.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “They’re very difficult things to cut.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “They’re very difficult things to cut.
precisely as stated
From this reading “They’re very difficult things to cut.
be dressed in
From this reading So many of my friends wear very ill-fitting gaiters.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, sir.”
Chapter 2 of The Bishop's Apron by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham holds 420 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 420 sentences of The Bishop's Apron, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Bishop's Apron by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 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 The Bishop's Apron by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4707 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47523 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47523, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 942 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bishop's Apron section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Bishop's Apron 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 The Bishop's Apron, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
