Chapter 2 of The Underground City is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Underground City is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first. “What does this mean?” said he to himself. He took up the torn envelope, and examined it. Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark. It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
Chapter 2 of The Underground City is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.”
-ing form of “contradict” — be in contradiction with
From this reading “ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.”
(United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government
From this reading “It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.”
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading “He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.”
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading “He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.”
a cancellation mark stamped on mail by postal officials; indicates the post office and date of mailing
From this reading “Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark.”
possessive form of “starr” — rock star and drummer for the Beatles (born in 1940)
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading “He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark.
quickly and without warning
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
cause to be bored
From this reading Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
-ing form of “contradict” — be in contradiction with
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
(United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What does this mean?” said he to himself.
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “What does this mean?” said he to himself.
plural of “idea” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “What does this mean?” said he to himself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
a cancellation mark stamped on mail by postal officials; indicates the post office and date of mailing
From this reading Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postmark.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “What does this mean?” said he to himself.
Identical; not different.
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
possessive form of “starr” — rock star and drummer for the Beatles (born in 1940)
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
for that reason; as a result
From this reading It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “What does this mean?” said he to himself.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He took up the torn envelope, and examined it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What does this mean?” said he to himself.
at the time that
From this reading ON THE ROAD The course of James Starr’s ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.
Chapter 2 of The Underground City by Jules Verne holds 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 117 sentences of The Underground City, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Underground City by Jules Verne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 Underground City by Jules Verne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2578 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1355 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1355, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 214 minutes of reading across 516 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Underground City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Underground City 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 Underground City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
