Chapter 2 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And why?" "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago. ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents. "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so." "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
Chapter 2 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
equally
From this reading “"Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.”
possessive form of “berkeley” — Irish philosopher and Anglican bishop who opposed the materialism of Thomas Hobbes (1685-1753)
plural of “document” — writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading “’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.”
provided with a frame
From this reading “’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.”
plural of “hang” — a special way of doing something
From this reading “’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.”
plural of “pea” — seed of a pea plant used for food
From this reading “"Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.”
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading “’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “"Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.”
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 “"Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.”
In this reading “"Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.”
In this reading “’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.”
In this reading “"You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."”
In this reading “’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.”
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 "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
in the past
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
equally
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And why?"
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
for the reason that
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
possessive form of “berkeley” — Irish philosopher and Anglican bishop who opposed the materialism of Thomas Hobbes (1685-1753)
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
plural of “document” — writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
provided with a frame
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
plural of “hang” — a special way of doing something
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
plural of “pea” — seed of a pea plant used for food
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
Identical; not different.
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
cut with a saw
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
term of address for a man
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading "Because I saw a letter from King Charles at Sir John Berkeley’s house but a week ago.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, at any rate two peas were never more alike.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "And why?"
the act of creating written works
From this reading ’Tis framed and hangs upon the wall; and the writing is the same as that," I added, pointing to the documents.
but in spite of that
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have good cause for saying that; yet ’tis not so."
Chapter 2 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 412 sentences of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #53641, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 303 minutes of reading across 729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
