Chapter 2 of The Nurserymatograph is here in full — 442 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 Nurserymatograph is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house. As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three. He tires. He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison. 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
Chapter 2 of The Nurserymatograph is here in full — 442 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.
plural of “hire” — a newly hired employee
From this reading “3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.”
plural of “pick” — the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading “As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.”
spoil as if by poison
From this reading “He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.”
plural of “purchase” — the acquisition of something for payment
From this reading “He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.”
liquid food especially of meat or fish or vegetable stock often containing pieces of solid food
From this reading “4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.”
plural of “tire” — hoop that covers a wheel
From this reading “He tires.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-two and one
From this reading “As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.”
plural of “visit” — the act of going to see some person or place or thing for a short time
From this reading “4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
plural of “hire” — a newly hired employee
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
the amount that can be bought for a penny
From this reading He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
plural of “pick” — the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
spoil as if by poison
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
plural of “purchase” — the acquisition of something for payment
From this reading He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.
liquid food especially of meat or fish or vegetable stock often containing pieces of solid food
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
plural of “tire” — hoop that covers a wheel
From this reading He tires.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 3 He hires an aeroplane to circle above his house.
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-two and one
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading He purchases two pennyworth of rat-poison.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
precisely as stated
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
plural of “visit” — the act of going to see some person or place or thing for a short time
From this reading 4 He visits the Kitchen of a large Hotel, and very unostentatiously drops the poison in the soup.
look attentively
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading As people watch it, from his bedroom window he picks off twenty-three.
Chapter 2 of The Nurserymatograph by G. A. T. (George A. T.) Allan holds 442 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 442 sentences of The Nurserymatograph, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Nurserymatograph by G. A. T. (George A. T.) Allan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 442 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 Nurserymatograph by G. A. T. (George A. T.) Allan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1343 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46707 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46707, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 111 minutes of reading across 269 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Nurserymatograph section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Nurserymatograph 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 Nurserymatograph, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
