Chapter 2 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked. His legs had gone leaden. “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.” Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes. He filled the case.
Chapter 2 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
conspicuously new
From this reading “Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.”
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.”
valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled
From this reading “Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.”
darkened with overcast
From this reading “His legs had gone leaden.”
the quantity that can be held in the mouth
From this reading ““I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.””
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading “Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.”
inflected form of “slap” — hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading “Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.”
activity leading to skilled behavior
From this reading ““I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.”
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 “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
conspicuously new
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
an occurrence of something
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading He filled the case.
destroyed or killed
From this reading His legs had gone leaden.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His legs had gone leaden.
only a very short time before
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His legs had gone leaden.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
darkened with overcast
From this reading His legs had gone leaden.
staying power
From this reading His legs had gone leaden.
the quantity that can be held in the mouth
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
in the near future
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
inflected form of “slap” — hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He filled the case.
from that circumstance or source
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “I don’t feel as though I’d had a mouthful of breakfast.”
activity leading to skilled behavior
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Presently he slapped his side pocket and produced therefrom a brand-new cigarette case and a packet of Vansittart’s Red Herring cigarettes.
but in spite of that
From this reading “I’m hardly in training yet,” he remarked.
Chapter 2 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells 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 Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll 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 Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
