Chapter 2 of The Garotters is here in full — 320 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Garotters is here in full — 320 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’ ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS. ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind! He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’ MRS.
Chapter 2 of The Garotters is here in full — 320 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/64 · 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.
state of violent mental agitation
From this reading “ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.”
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading “WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’”
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading “ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!”
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading “ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!”
United States biochemist (born in England) honored for his discovery that some genes contain introns (born in 1943)
From this reading “ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.”
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!”
look attentively
From this reading “WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’”
English physician who was a pioneer in the study of the brain (1621-1675)
From this reading “WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’”
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 ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’
any thing at all
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
state of violent mental agitation
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
only a very short time before
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
United States biochemist (born in England) honored for his discovery that some genes contain introns (born in 1943)
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘And he didn’t call for the police, or anything—’ WILLIS: ‘Ah, that showed presence of mind!
the act of using
From this reading He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
look attentively
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ROBERTS: ‘I was in quite a frenzy; I really hardly knew what I was doing—’ MRS.
English physician who was a pioneer in the study of the brain (1621-1675)
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew it wouldn’t have been any use.’
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading WILLIS: ‘And grabbed your watch from him?’
Chapter 2 of The Garotters by William Dean Howells holds 320 sentences, grouped into 64 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 320 sentences of The Garotters, unabridged, divided into 64 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Garotters by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 320 sentences, grouped into 64 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 64 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 64 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 Garotters by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 975 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3237 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3237, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 81 minutes of reading across 195 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Garotters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Garotters 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 Garotters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
