Chapter 2 of The Register is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Register is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard? And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying? O _Ethel_!” _Miss Reed_: “I haven’t been listening, exactly.” _Miss Spaulding_: “You have!
Chapter 2 of The Register is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “_Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “_Miss Reed_: “I haven’t been listening, exactly.””
not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
From this reading “_Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?”
tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
record in writing; enter into a book of names or events or transactions
From this reading “And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?”
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading “_Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?”
a quiet or hushed tone of voice
From this reading “_Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O _Ethel_!”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading _Miss Reed_: “I haven’t been listening, exactly.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Miss Reed_: “I haven’t been listening, exactly.”
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O _Ethel_!”
tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
From this reading _Miss Reed_: “I haven’t been listening, exactly.”
record in writing; enter into a book of names or events or transactions
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
a quiet or hushed tone of voice
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Miss Spaulding_, in an awful undertone: “Was that the hollow rumbling I heard?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And have you been listening at the register to what they’ve been saying?
Chapter 2 of The Register by William Dean Howells holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 449 sentences of The Register, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Register by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Register by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 908 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3403 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3403, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 75 minutes of reading across 182 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Register section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Register 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 Register, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
