Chapter 2 of The Color of a Great City is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Color of a Great City is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Would you rather be on shore?” “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.” “You like one, then, as well as the other?” “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays. Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
Chapter 2 of The Color of a Great City is here in full — 411 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.
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading ““Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading ““Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.””
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading “Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.”
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading ““Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.”
for more time
From this reading ““Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.”
a full supply
From this reading “Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.”
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading ““Would you rather be on shore?””
plural of “sunday” — first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading ““Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.”
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 ““Would you rather be on shore?””
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “You like one, then, as well as the other?”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Would you rather be on shore?”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “You like one, then, as well as the other?”
for more time
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Would you rather be on shore?”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “You like one, then, as well as the other?”
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “You like one, then, as well as the other?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
a full supply
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
on the contrary
From this reading “Would you rather be on shore?”
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading “Would you rather be on shore?”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
plural of “sunday” — first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You like one, then, as well as the other?”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “You like one, then, as well as the other?”
in or at that place or location
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
(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, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
at the time that
From this reading Out here there ain’t any hour your own, but there’s plenty days when there’s nothin’ doin’.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “Well, if I didn’t have to work so hard.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “Would you rather be on shore?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Would you rather be on shore?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Well, on shore the hours are longer, but you get your evenings and Sundays.
Chapter 2 of The Color of a Great City by Theodore Dreiser holds 411 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 411 sentences of The Color of a Great City, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Color of a Great City by Theodore Dreiser exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 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.
Common questions about reading The Color of a Great City by Theodore Dreiser on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4114 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61043 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61043, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 342 minutes of reading across 823 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Color of a Great City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Color of a Great City 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 Color of a Great City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
