Chapter 2 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Crosby stood very still. “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence. “Thank you, Minnie.” Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room. Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
Chapter 2 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading “Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.”
a hat tied under the chin
From this reading “Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.”
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.”
United States singer and film actor (1903-1977)
From this reading “Mrs. Crosby stood very still.”
plural of “doubt” — the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.”
advancing in amount or intensity
From this reading “Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.”
in the recent past
From this reading “Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.”
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 “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
later than; following
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
a hat tied under the chin
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
make calm or still
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
United States singer and film actor (1903-1977)
From this reading Mrs. Crosby stood very still.
plural of “doubt” — the state of being unsure of something
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
a social unit living together
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
advancing in amount or intensity
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Thank you, Minnie.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Crosby stood very still.
plural of “question” — an instance of questioning
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
in the recent past
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
not in physical motion
From this reading Mrs. Crosby stood very still.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Mrs. Crosby stood very still.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Thank you, Minnie.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I think she should bring her questions to the family,” she said, after a silence.
in the direction of
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
precisely as stated
From this reading Mrs. Crosby stood very still.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Bonnet in hand, she moved toward the stairs, climbed them and went into her room.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Recently life had been growing increasingly calm and less beset with doubts.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Thank you, Minnie.”
Chapter 2 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 224 sentences, grouped into 45 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 224 sentences of The Breaking Point, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1601 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1601, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1821 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Breaking Point section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Breaking Point 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 Breaking Point, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
