Chapter 2 of The Tunnel is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Tunnel is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair. "No. Have you?" "We've not been for weeks.... Everybody thinks us awful heathens." "P'raps you are."
Chapter 2 of The Tunnel is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “Everybody thinks us awful heathens."”
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “"Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.”
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading “"Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.”
the act of digging
From this reading “"Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.”
every person
From this reading “Everybody thinks us awful heathens."”
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading “"Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.”
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading “Everybody thinks us awful heathens."”
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “"We've not been for weeks....”
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.
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "P'raps you are."
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading Everybody thinks us awful heathens."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
the act of digging
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
every person
From this reading Everybody thinks us awful heathens."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "We've not been for weeks....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "No. Have you?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Everybody thinks us awful heathens."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
not any; not one
From this reading "No. Have you?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "We've not been for weeks....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "P'raps you are."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading Everybody thinks us awful heathens."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Been to church?" said Gerald digging his shoulders into his chair.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Everybody thinks us awful heathens."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We've not been for weeks....
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading "We've not been for weeks....
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "No. Have you?"
Chapter 2 of The Tunnel by Dorothy M. (Dorothy Miller) Richardson holds 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 181 sentences of The Tunnel, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Tunnel by Dorothy M. (Dorothy Miller) Richardson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Tunnel by Dorothy M. (Dorothy Miller) Richardson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6812 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56447 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56447, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 567 minutes of reading across 1363 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tunnel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Tunnel 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 Tunnel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
