Chapter 2 of The Great Gray Plague is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Great Gray Plague is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk. "There's a new letter in there," she said. "Dr. Pehrson initialed it. He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case." "That's right."
Chapter 2 of The Great Gray Plague is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
caused to show discomposure
From this reading “He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."”
an occurrence of something
From this reading “He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.”
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading “In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.”
past form of “initial” — mark with one's initials
From this reading “"Dr. Pehrson initialed it.”
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading “In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.”
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading “In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.”
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.
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 In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
caused to show discomposure
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
an occurrence of something
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Dr. Pehrson initialed it.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
past form of “initial” — mark with one's initials
From this reading "Dr. Pehrson initialed it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Dr. Pehrson initialed it.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "There's a new letter in there," she said.
a particular point in time
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading "There's a new letter in there," she said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Dr. Pehrson initialed it.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "That's right."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "There's a new letter in there," she said.
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "There's a new letter in there," she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's right."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In a moment the secretary entered and placed the file on the desk.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There's a new letter in there," she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There's a new letter in there," she said.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
in the company of; together with
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He said you didn't want to be bothered any more with this case."
Chapter 2 of The Great Gray Plague by Raymond F. Jones holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 440 sentences of The Great Gray Plague, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Great Gray Plague by Raymond F. Jones exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Great Gray Plague by Raymond F. Jones on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2180 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28118 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28118, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 181 minutes of reading across 436 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Gray Plague section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Great Gray Plague 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 Great Gray Plague, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
