Chapter 2 of The Solar Magnet is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Solar Magnet is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you. Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?" "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet. "Fire away, old fellow. I'll talk."
Chapter 2 of The Solar Magnet 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.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “"Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.”
cut or trimmed by clipping
From this reading “"When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.”
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading “"When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.”
be obedient to
From this reading “"When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.”
with little or no delay
From this reading “"Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.”
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “"Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.”
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading “"When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.”
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 "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Fire away, old fellow.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
cut or trimmed by clipping
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
a boy or man
From this reading "Fire away, old fellow.
start firing a weapon
From this reading "Fire away, old fellow.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll talk."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
be obedient to
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Fire away, old fellow.
with little or no delay
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
on the contrary
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading "Not by a long shot," replied Dr. Bird promptly as he rose to his feet.
express in speech
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
having a supporting base
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading I'll talk."
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
at the time that
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
during the time that
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Would you rather be questioned while in the _strelska_ than while standing?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "When I speak to you, you shall obey," he said in curiously clipped English, "else it will be the worse for you.
Chapter 2 of The Solar Magnet by S. P. (Sterner St. Paul) Meek 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 Solar Magnet, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Solar Magnet by S. P. (Sterner St. Paul) Meek 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 Solar Magnet by S. P. (Sterner St. Paul) Meek on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 876 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29401 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29401, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 73 minutes of reading across 176 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Solar Magnet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Solar Magnet 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 Solar Magnet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
