Chapter 2 of The Straw is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Straw is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NICHOLLS (_confusedly_). I'll do my best, Doctor. (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens! She never said a word about--being so ill. She's had a cold.
Chapter 2 of The Straw is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “(_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!”
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading “I'll do my best, Doctor.”
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading “She's had a cold.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “I'll do my best, Doctor.”
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading “(_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!”
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading “(_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “She never said a word about--being so ill.”
shaking convulsively or violently
From this reading “(_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!”
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 She never said a word about--being so ill.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading I'll do my best, Doctor.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading She's had a cold.
in a confused manner
From this reading NICHOLLS (_confusedly_).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I'll do my best, Doctor.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading I'll do my best, Doctor.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She's had a cold.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll do my best, Doctor.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I'll do my best, Doctor.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NICHOLLS (_confusedly_).
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She's had a cold.
shaking convulsively or violently
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading She never said a word about--being so ill.
but in spite of that
From this reading (_As if he couldn't yet believe his ears--shuddering!_) Good heavens!
Chapter 2 of The Straw by Eugene O'Neill holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 441 sentences of The Straw, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Straw by Eugene O'Neill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Straw by Eugene O'Neill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Straw section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Straw 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 Straw, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
