Chapter 2 of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870 is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870 is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO. As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour. I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
Chapter 2 of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870 is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
From this reading “As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.”
a man who has never been married
From this reading “I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.”
lacking graciousness
From this reading “I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.”
cases used to carry belongings when traveling
From this reading “As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.”
plural of “opening” — an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading “OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.”
plural of “oyster” — marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading “OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.”
a dissolute man in fashionable society
From this reading “I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.”
the shore of a sea or ocean regarded as a resort
From this reading “I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.”
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 As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
a man who has never been married
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
the specified day of the month
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
lacking graciousness
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
the act of departing
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
cases used to carry belongings when traveling
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
plural of “opening” — an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
plural of “oyster” — marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
a dissolute man in fashionable society
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
the shore of a sea or ocean regarded as a resort
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As to the man putting the luggage on his head, as a sort of sign, I adopt it from this hour.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
in or at the place that
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading I date this from London, where I have come, as a good profligate, graceless bachelor, for a day or two; leaving my wife and babbies at the seaside.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading OYSTERS IN EVERY STYLE OR OPENINGS OF LIFE BY YOUNG DANDO.
Chapter 2 of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870 by Charles Dickens holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870 by Charles Dickens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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.
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About 357 minutes of reading across 858 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870 to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 3, 1836-1870, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
