Chapter 2 of The Old Way 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 Old Way is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What the heck are you doing?" Clair asked me. My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple. Our intercom can pick up theirs. As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
Chapter 2 of The Old Way 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.
a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward
From this reading “As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."”
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading “My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.”
a communication system linking different rooms within a building or ship etc
From this reading “Our intercom can pick up theirs.”
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading “My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.”
select carefully from a group
From this reading “Our intercom can pick up theirs.”
bulge outward
From this reading “As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.”
the one or ones belonging to them
From this reading “Our intercom can pick up theirs.”
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.
take and lift upward
In this reading “Our intercom can pick up theirs.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "What the heck are you doing?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Clair asked me.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Our intercom can pick up theirs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Clair asked me.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "What the heck are you doing?"
a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What the heck are you doing?"
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
a communication system linking different rooms within a building or ship etc
From this reading Our intercom can pick up theirs.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Clair asked me.
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our intercom can pick up theirs.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
select carefully from a group
From this reading Our intercom can pick up theirs.
bulge outward
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
in the near future
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What the heck are you doing?"
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
the one or ones belonging to them
From this reading Our intercom can pick up theirs.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Our intercom can pick up theirs.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading My voice must have sounded muffled from under the helmet as I said: "Simple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As soon as some of them pop outside their dome and start talking, we'll know."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What the heck are you doing?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What the heck are you doing?"
Chapter 2 of The Old Way by Stephen Marlowe 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 Old Way, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Old Way by Stephen Marlowe 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 Old Way by Stephen Marlowe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 891 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65324, 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 Old Way section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Old Way 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 Old Way, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
