Chapter 2 of The Misplaced Battleship is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Misplaced Battleship is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
* * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge. A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood. It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own. I chewed my lip with jealousy. Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
Chapter 2 of The Misplaced Battleship is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 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.
in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature
From this reading “Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.”
the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage
From this reading “A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.”
with brightness
From this reading “It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.”
past form of “chew” — chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
From this reading “I chewed my lip with jealousy.”
the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
From this reading “A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.”
come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading “* * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.”
a false statement
From this reading “A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.”
a copy that is represented as the original
From this reading “A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.”
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 * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
with brightness
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
past form of “chew” — chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
From this reading I chewed my lip with jealousy.
the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
past form of “conceive” — have the idea for
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
a false statement
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
a copy that is represented as the original
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I chewed my lip with jealousy.
plural of “idea” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
a feeling of jealous envy (especially of a rival)
From this reading I chewed my lip with jealousy.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading I chewed my lip with jealousy.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
and nothing more
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading It could only have been conceived by a mind as brilliantly crooked as my own.
a perceptual structure
From this reading * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading * * * * * Bit by bit a pattern started to emerge.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Like all great ideas, this one was basically simple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A delicate webwork of forgery, bribery, chicanery and falsehood.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I chewed my lip with jealousy.
Chapter 2 of The Misplaced Battleship by Harry Harrison holds 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 444 sentences of The Misplaced Battleship, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Misplaced Battleship by Harry Harrison exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Misplaced Battleship by Harry Harrison on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 893 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22541 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22541, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 74 minutes of reading across 179 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Misplaced Battleship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Misplaced Battleship 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 Misplaced Battleship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
