Chapter 2 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Yes, I was dazed. How did they count distance in this country? You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days. And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered. And how many miles would be considered really far?
Chapter 2 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
carefully weighed
From this reading “And how many miles would be considered really far?”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “Yes, I was dazed.”
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading “You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.”
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.”
exhibiting the qualities expected in a friendly neighbor
From this reading “You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.”
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading “And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.”
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading “And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.”
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 You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
carefully weighed
From this reading And how many miles would be considered really far?
determine the number or amount of
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading Yes, I was dazed.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading And how many miles would be considered really far?
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Yes, I was dazed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading And how many miles would be considered really far?
exhibiting the qualities expected in a friendly neighbor
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
above and across; more than
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading And how many miles would be considered really far?
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading How did they count distance in this country?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes, I was dazed.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading And what would be meant by the term “dropping in,” I wondered.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, I was dazed.
but in spite of that
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You spoke in a neighborly fashion about driving over to town, and it meant--I did not know yet how many days.
Chapter 2 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister holds 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 247 sentences of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9717 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1298 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1298, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains 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 Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
