Chapter 2 of The Defenders is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Defenders is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The leady hesitated. Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed. Moss peered around. "Obey!" Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
Chapter 2 of The Defenders is here in full — 472 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
experiencing a sudden sense of danger
From this reading “Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.”
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading “Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.”
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading “Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.”
plural of “frank” — a member of the ancient Germanic peoples who spread from the Rhine into the Roman Empire in the 4th century
From this reading “Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.”
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.”
tiny leafy-stemmed flowerless plants
From this reading “Moss peered around.”
be obedient to
From this reading “"Obey!"”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Moss peered around.”
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 Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
experiencing a sudden sense of danger
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Moss peered around.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
plural of “frank” — a member of the ancient Germanic peoples who spread from the Rhine into the Roman Empire in the 4th century
From this reading Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading The leady hesitated.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The leady hesitated.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
tiny leafy-stemmed flowerless plants
From this reading Moss peered around.
be obedient to
From this reading "Obey!"
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Moss peered around.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The leady hesitated.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Franks said in a loud, commanding voice.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed.
Chapter 2 of The Defenders by Philip K. Dick holds 472 sentences, grouped into 95 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 472 sentences of The Defenders, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Defenders by Philip K. Dick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 472 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 Defenders by Philip K. Dick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 948 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28767 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28767, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 79 minutes of reading across 190 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Defenders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Defenders 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 Defenders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
