Chapter 2 of The Dinner Club is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Dinner Club is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair. ‘I’m much better to-day, much. Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly. “‘Ill,’ he cried. ‘Molly Travers ill.
Chapter 2 of The Dinner Club is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
-ing form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading ““‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.”
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading “Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading ““‘Ill,’ he cried.”
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “‘Molly Travers ill.”
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading “Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading ““‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.”
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 “Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.”
In this reading “‘I’m much better to-day, much.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading ‘I’m much better to-day, much.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
-ing form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “‘Ill,’ he cried.
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘I’m much better to-day, much.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “‘Ill,’ he cried.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
popular aquarium fish
From this reading ‘Molly Travers ill.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading ‘I’m much better to-day, much.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
cut with a saw
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
not in physical motion
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘I’m much better to-day, much.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Molly Travers ill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading Bit weak still——’ “And then he saw the paper, and he leant forward eagerly.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “‘I thought I heard Mr. Trayne’s voice,’ he whispered, collapsing in the chair.
Chapter 2 of The Dinner Club by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of The Dinner Club, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Dinner Club by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Dinner Club by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4821 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60525 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60525, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 401 minutes of reading across 965 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dinner Club section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Dinner Club 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 Dinner Club, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
