Chapter 2 of The Secret Sharer is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Secret Sharer is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man. You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’” His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous. He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see. “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
Chapter 2 of The Secret Sharer is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading ““Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.”
one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.”
the officer below the master on a commercial ship
From this reading “You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’””
tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
From this reading “His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.”
a window in a roof to admit daylight
From this reading “He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.”
make steady
From this reading “He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.”
move an implement through
From this reading “He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.”
put down by force or intimidation
From this reading “His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.”
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 “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
a person who is in charge
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
for more time
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
the officer below the master on a commercial ship
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
not any; not one
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
Identical; not different.
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
transport commercially
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
a window in a roof to admit daylight
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
make steady
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
move an implement through
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
put down by force or intimidation
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading You can act no longer as chief mate of this ship.’”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “Nice little tale for a quiet tea party,” he concluded in the same tone.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His care to subdue his voice made it sound monotonous.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He rested a hand on the end of the skylight to steady himself with, and all that time did not stir a limb, so far as I could see.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “‘Mr. Leggatt, you have killed a man.
Chapter 2 of The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad holds 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 231 sentences of The Secret Sharer, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1150 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #220 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #220, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 95 minutes of reading across 230 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Sharer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Secret Sharer 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 Secret Sharer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
