Chapter 2 of The Middle of Things is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Middle of Things is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHO WAS MR. ASHTON? For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind. Here was a mystery! The police instinct was aroused by it.
Chapter 2 of The Middle of Things is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
aroused to action
From this reading “The police instinct was aroused by it.”
British choreographer (1906-1988)
From this reading “ASHTON?”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.”
past form of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading “For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.”
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading “The police instinct was aroused by it.”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “Here was a mystery!”
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading “The police instinct was aroused by it.”
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 Here was a mystery!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
aroused to action
From this reading The police instinct was aroused by it.
British choreographer (1906-1988)
From this reading ASHTON?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The police instinct was aroused by it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here was a mystery!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
past form of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading The police instinct was aroused by it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The police instinct was aroused by it.
immediately past
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
a form of address for a man
From this reading WHO WAS MR.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading Here was a mystery!
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading The police instinct was aroused by it.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WHO WAS MR.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
which person or people
From this reading WHO WAS MR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
the words that are spoken
From this reading For the first time since they had entered the room, Drillford turned and glanced at Viner; his look indicated the idea which Miss Wickham's last words had set up in his mind.
Chapter 2 of The Middle of Things by J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 195 sentences of The Middle of Things, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Middle of Things by J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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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Yes. All 4739 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9902 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9902, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 394 minutes of reading across 948 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Middle of Things section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Middle of Things 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 Middle of Things, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
