Chapter 2 of The Iron Trail is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Iron Trail is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan. "Yes--I think so." "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger." "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water. "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
Chapter 2 of The Iron Trail is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
at or in the front
From this reading “"Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.”
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “"I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."”
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading “"I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “"Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “"Look after the girl before it's--too late."”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “"Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.”
British classical scholar (born in Australia) who advocated the League of Nations and the United Nations (1866-1957)
From this reading “"Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.”
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading “"Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.”
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 "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
later than; following
From this reading "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
at or in the front
From this reading "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
a young female
From this reading "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Yes--I think so."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Look after the girl before it's--too late."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
British classical scholar (born in Australia) who advocated the League of Nations and the United Nations (1866-1957)
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Yes--I think so."
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Yes--I think so."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading "Go ahead," chattered the man in the water.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes--I think so."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Can you hold out for a minute, Murray?" asked Brennan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'd give you my place, but you're too big to be taken in without danger."
Chapter 2 of The Iron Trail by Rex Beach holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 419 sentences of The Iron Trail, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Iron Trail by Rex Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Iron Trail by Rex Beach on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7492 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5233 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5233, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1499 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Iron Trail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Iron Trail 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 Iron Trail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
