Chapter 2 of The Road to Bunker Hill is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Road to Bunker Hill is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone. Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her. A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him. He held up his hand. The urchins stopped shouting.
Chapter 2 of The Road to Bunker Hill is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading ““What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.”
habitually complaining
From this reading ““What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.”
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading “The urchins stopped shouting.”
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
From this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
plural of “urchin” — poor and often mischievous city child
From this reading “The urchins stopped shouting.”
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
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 “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.”
In this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
In this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
In this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.”
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 “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
every person
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
the act of departing
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He held up his hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He held up his hand.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading He held up his hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He held up his hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
no person; not anyone
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
on one occasion
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
habitually complaining
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading The urchins stopped shouting.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
not in physical motion
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The urchins stopped shouting.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Everybody seemed to be talking at once, but nobody answered her.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
the upper part of anything
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He held up his hand.
plural of “urchin” — poor and often mischievous city child
From this reading The urchins stopped shouting.
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading A man wearing a blue coat and carrying a sword came out of the tavern and stood still at the top of the steps, looking round him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s going on here?” demanded Granny in a querulous tone.
Chapter 2 of The Road to Bunker Hill by Shirley Barker holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of The Road to Bunker Hill, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Road to Bunker Hill by Shirley Barker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Road to Bunker Hill by Shirley Barker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4207 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66623 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66623, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 350 minutes of reading across 842 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Road to Bunker Hill section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Road to Bunker Hill 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 Road to Bunker Hill, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
