Chapter 2 of The Crisis — Volume 04 is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Crisis — Volume 04 is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I have the costumes under my hand. The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time. Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice." Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang? I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
Chapter 2 of The Crisis — Volume 04 is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 2/26 · 5 reading units · Lines 6–10
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 Scottish word
From this reading “Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?”
plural of “costume” — the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading “I have the costumes under my hand.”
plural of “instrument” — a device that requires skill for proper use
From this reading “Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."”
plural of “male” — an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes
From this reading “The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.”
having no meaning or direction or purpose
From this reading “The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.”
past form of “recite” — recite in elocution
From this reading “I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.”
United States religious leader who founded the sect that is now called Jehovah's Witnesses (1852-1916)
From this reading “Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."”
of surpassing excellence
From this reading “Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."”
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.
any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds
In this reading “Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."”
a young female
In this reading “The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.”
In this reading “Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."”
In this reading “Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."”
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 The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
(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 The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
a Scottish word
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
plural of “costume” — the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
plural of “instrument” — a device that requires skill for proper use
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
the sound of laughing
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
plural of “male” — an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
having no meaning or direction or purpose
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
used to form the superlative
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
characterized by or capable of producing music
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
past form of “perform” — carry out or perform an action
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
past form of “recite” — recite in elocution
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
United States religious leader who founded the sect that is now called Jehovah's Witnesses (1852-1916)
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
of surpassing excellence
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading I have the costumes under my hand.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Miss Emily Russell performed upon "that most superb of all musical instruments the human voice."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was it 'Auld Robin Gray' that she sang?
which person or people
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I am sure it was Miss Maude Catherwood who recited 'To My Mother', with such effect.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The words are meaningless to all males, and young women might laugh at a critical time.
Chapter 2 of The Crisis — Volume 04 by Winston Churchill holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 130 sentences of The Crisis — Volume 04, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Crisis — Volume 04 by Winston Churchill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Crisis — Volume 04 by Winston Churchill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1781 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5391 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5391, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 148 minutes of reading across 357 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crisis — Volume 04 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Crisis — Volume 04 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 Crisis — Volume 04, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
