Chapter 2 of The rival bicyclists is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The rival bicyclists is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION. Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate. “To the right!” yelled Joe. There was no time to say more. He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
Chapter 2 of The rival bicyclists is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading “Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.”
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading “Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.”
fraught with danger
From this reading “OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.”
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading “OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.”
move hurridly
From this reading “Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.”
past form of “switch” — change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading “He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.”
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading “He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading ““To the right!” yelled Joe.”
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 “OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.”
cause to stop operating by disengaging a switch
In this reading “He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.”
In this reading “He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.”
In this reading “He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.”
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 OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
someone who is a detective
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
the act of departing
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There was no time to say more.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no time to say more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.
above and across; more than
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
fraught with danger
From this reading OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.
with speed
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “To the right!” yelled Joe.
Identical; not different.
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
express in words
From this reading There was no time to say more.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading OUT OF A PERILOUS SITUATION.
move hurridly
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
past form of “switch” — change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “To the right!” yelled Joe.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no time to say more.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading There was no time to say more.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no time to say more.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Joe and Dick had to think and act quickly, for they were going at such speed that another second must decide their fate.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading He switched off, and at the same time threw his whole weight over.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “To the right!” yelled Joe.
Chapter 2 of The rival bicyclists by Edward Stratemeyer holds 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 113 sentences of The rival bicyclists, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The rival bicyclists by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The rival bicyclists, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
