Chapter 2 of The Blind Brother is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Blind Brother is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BURNED BREAKER. For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping. Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise. He lifted his head. By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
Chapter 2 of The Blind Brother is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 form of amphetamine
From this reading “For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.”
a quarry worker who splits off blocks of stone
From this reading “THE BURNED BREAKER.”
treated by heating to a high temperature but below the melting or fusing point
From this reading “THE BURNED BREAKER.”
plural of “degree” — a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading “By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.”
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.”
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.”
to a pitiful degree
From this reading “For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.”
showing sorrow
From this reading “For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.”
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 “By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.”
a prolonged period of time
In this reading “For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.”
In this reading “By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.”
In this reading “For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.”
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 For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
a form of amphetamine
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
a quarry worker who splits off blocks of stone
From this reading THE BURNED BREAKER.
treated by heating to a high temperature but below the melting or fusing point
From this reading THE BURNED BREAKER.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
plural of “degree” — a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He lifted his head.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He lifted his head.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
held up in the air
From this reading He lifted his head.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
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 For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
to a pitiful degree
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
in or at or to some place
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading By degrees the noise grew louder; then it sounded almost like footsteps.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BURNED BREAKER.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, away off somewhere in the mine, he heard a noise.
in or at that place or location
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
showing sorrow
From this reading For a long time Bennie lay there, pitifully weeping.
Chapter 2 of The Blind Brother by Homer Greene holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 164 sentences of The Blind Brother, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Blind Brother by Homer Greene exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Blind Brother by Homer Greene on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1367 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45232 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45232, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 113 minutes of reading across 274 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Blind Brother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Blind Brother 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 Blind Brother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
