Chapter 2 of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At this his convulsive struggles began again. "Oh, please, not that. Anything but that. I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone." So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
Chapter 2 of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 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.
with bitterness; in a resentful manner
From this reading “So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."”
affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
From this reading “At this his convulsive struggles began again.”
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."”
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading “I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."”
make a promise or commitment
From this reading “I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."”
plural of “sheet” — any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading “So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."”
convulsive gasp made while weeping
From this reading “So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."”
plural of “struggle” — an energetic attempt to achieve something
From this reading “At this his convulsive struggles began again.”
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 “I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."”
In this reading “At this his convulsive struggles began again.”
In this reading “So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."”
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.
anew
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
(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 So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
Having no one else present.
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
any thing at all
From this reading Anything but that.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
with bitterness; in a resentful manner
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Anything but that.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
all things; all of a situation
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
set down according to a plan
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Oh, please, not that.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, please, not that.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
above and across; more than
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "Oh, please, not that.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
cut with a saw
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
plural of “sheet” — any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
convulsive gasp made while weeping
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
not in physical motion
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
plural of “struggle” — an energetic attempt to achieve something
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Oh, please, not that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading At this his convulsive struggles began again.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading So we laid him on the bed, and drew the sheets over him, and left him sobbing bitterly, and saying: "I nearly saw everything, and now I can see nothing at all."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will promise to lie still and not to cry more than I can help, if I am left alone."
Chapter 2 of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories by E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories by E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories by E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2486 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34089 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34089, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 207 minutes of reading across 498 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories 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 Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
