Chapter 2 of The Thing Beyond Reason is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Thing Beyond Reason is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“She didn’t though. All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?” She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her. “Excuse me!” he said. Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
Chapter 2 of The Thing Beyond Reason is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.”
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?””
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.”
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action
From this reading “All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?””
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading “Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.”
wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading “Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.”
In this reading “She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.”
bring forth, usually something desirable
In this reading “She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.”
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 stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
(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 All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
next to; at the side of
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She didn’t though.
accept an excuse for
From this reading “Excuse me!” he said.
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Excuse me!” he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Excuse me!” he said.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
and nothing more
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Excuse me!” he said.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She didn’t though.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “She didn’t though.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
not known
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She stopped short, her dark brows meeting in a fierce frown, for the unknown man had come up beside her and spoken to her.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
at the time that
From this reading All the time, when we were so friendly together, she must have been planning this and—_what_?”
wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading Lexy only looked at him, but he did not wither and perish under her scorn.
Chapter 2 of The Thing Beyond Reason by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of The Thing Beyond Reason, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Thing Beyond Reason by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Thing Beyond Reason by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3802 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67429 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67429, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 316 minutes of reading across 761 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Thing Beyond Reason section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Thing Beyond Reason 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 Thing Beyond Reason, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
