Chapter 2 of The Professor's House is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Professor's House is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?” Rosamond asked. “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes? Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.” “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
Chapter 2 of The Professor's House is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence
From this reading ““Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.”
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading ““Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.””
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading ““Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.”
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading ““Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?”
happening or arising without apparent external cause
From this reading “Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.””
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading ““Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?””
a source of difficulty
From this reading ““Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.”
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 ““Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?””
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.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Rosamond asked.
marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
engage in
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rosamond asked.
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
happening or arising without apparent external cause
From this reading Humour is always better if it’s spontaneous.”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Doesn’t he have to rest his brain sometimes?
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Oh, that’s the trouble with me,” Scott assured her.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Surely you don’t make him work at night, too?”
Chapter 2 of The Professor's House by Willa Cather holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of The Professor's House, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Professor's House by Willa Cather exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Professor's House by Willa Cather on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3872 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65465 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65465, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 322 minutes of reading across 775 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Professor's House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Professor's House 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 Professor's House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
