Chapter 2 of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man. "Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness. "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon? Hadn't he now?" The little man nodded.
Chapter 2 of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person)
From this reading “"Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?”
a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
From this reading “"Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.”
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading “"Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “The little man nodded.”
-ing form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “"Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?”
from appearances alone
From this reading “"Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “"Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.”
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading “"Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.”
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.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person)
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
From this reading "Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading The little man nodded.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Hadn't he now?"
-ing form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading "Hadn't he been blooming well begging and praying for it, aw afternoon?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
from appearances alone
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading "Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Well," said Myatt, with slow bitterness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ye'n settled _him_, seemingly, Jos!" said the little man.
Chapter 2 of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other by Arnold Bennett holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 412 sentences of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Matador of the Five Towns and Other by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7037 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12995 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12995, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 586 minutes of reading across 1408 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Matador of the Five Towns and Other section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Matador of the Five Towns and Other 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 Matador of the Five Towns and Other, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
