Chapter 2 of The Net is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Net is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"In Naples I hear there is a Camorra. But this is Sicily. We have no societies." "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted. "Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.
Chapter 2 of The Net is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 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.
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading “"Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.”
a secret society in Naples notorious for violence and blackmail
From this reading “"In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.”
in a grudging manner
From this reading “"Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.”
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading “"Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.”
a port and tourist center in southwestern Italy; capital of the Campania region
From this reading “"In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.”
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading “"Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.”
the Italian region on the island of Sicily
From this reading “But this is Sicily.”
plural of “society” — an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading “We have no societies."”
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 "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
inflected form of “admit” — declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading "Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But this is Sicily.
a secret society in Naples notorious for violence and blackmail
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
in a grudging manner
From this reading "Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We have no societies."
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
immediately past
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
a member of the Sicilian Mafia
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
a port and tourist center in southwestern Italy; capital of the Campania region
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
in spite of what has just been said
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
not any; not one
From this reading We have no societies."
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading "Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.
by chance
From this reading "Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.
express in words
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
the Italian region on the island of Sicily
From this reading But this is Sicily.
plural of “society” — an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading We have no societies."
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Perhaps," grudgingly admitted the overseer.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "In Naples I hear there is a Camorra.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But this is Sicily.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We have no societies."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Nevertheless, I heard you say something about 'Mafioso' last night," Blake insisted.
Chapter 2 of The Net by Rex Beach holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 410 sentences of The Net, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Net by Rex Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Net by Rex Beach on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7443 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6379 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6379, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1489 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Net section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Net 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 Net, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
