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The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)
Context Illustration Reading 1/82 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.
"Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.
"Oh, come!
You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.
"You might be worse," she retorted.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.
Line 2
"Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.
Line 3
"Oh, come!
/oʊ kʌm/
Line 4
You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.
/juː ˈnevər ˌɪˈmædʒənd ðæt aɪ wɑːz ə ˈlɪtəl ˈlɪtəreri mæn ɪn ˈlʌndən prəˈtestɪd hiː/
Line 5
"You might be worse," she retorted.
/juː maɪt biː wɜːrs ʃiː riˈtɔːrtɪd/

Learner Dictionary

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.

accounts noun US /əˈkaʊnts/

plural of “account” — a record or narrative description of past events

From this reading “"Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.”

cheerfully adverb US /ˈtʃɪrfəli/

in a cheerful manner

From this reading “"I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.”

data noun US /ˈdeɪtə/

a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn

From this reading “"I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.”

imagined verb US /ˌɪˈmædʒənd/

past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case

From this reading “You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.”

literary adjective US /ˈlɪtəreri/

of or relating to or characteristic of literature

From this reading “"Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.”

protested verb US /prəˈtestɪd/

past form of “protest” — utter words of protest

From this reading “You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.”

retorted verb US /riˈtɔːrtɪd/

past form of “retort” — answer back

From this reading “"You might be worse," she retorted.”

supplied verb US /səˈplaɪd/

inflected form of “supply” — give something useful or necessary to

From this reading “"I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.”

All words in this reading · 40

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

accountsnounUS /əˈkaʊnts/

plural of “account” — a record or narrative description of past events

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading "You might be worse," she retorted.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

cheerfullyadverbUS /ˈtʃɪrfəli/

in a cheerful manner

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading "Oh, come!

datanounUS /ˈdeɪtə/

a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

he's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.

I'll

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

imaginedverbUS /ˌɪˈmædʒənd/

past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case

From this reading You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

literaryadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəreri/

of or relating to or characteristic of literature

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

LondonnounUS /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading "You might be worse," she retorted.

necessaryadjectiveUS /ˈnesəseri/

absolutely essential

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.

OhnounUS /oʊ/

a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region

From this reading "Oh, come!

pleasurenounUS /ˈpleʒər/

a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

promisedverbUS /ˈprɑːməst/

past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

protestedverbUS /prəˈtestɪd/

past form of “protest” — utter words of protest

From this reading You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.

remarkedverbUS /rɪˈmɑːrkt/

past form of “remark” — make mention of

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

retortedverbUS /riˈtɔːrtɪd/

past form of “retort” — answer back

From this reading "You might be worse," she retorted.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

suppliedverbUS /səˈplaɪd/

inflected form of “supply” — give something useful or necessary to

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

tellverbUS /tel/

express in words

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading You never imagined that I was a little literary man in London," protested he.

WelladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading "Well, by some accounts, he's a little literary man in London," she remarked.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

worseadjectiveUS /wɜːrs/

(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability

From this reading "You might be worse," she retorted.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

you've

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I'll tell you with pleasure, after you've supplied me with the necessary data," he promised cheerfully.

Chapter 2 of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) by Marshall P. (Marshall Pinckney) [Editor] Wilder holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

What does chapter 2 of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) contain?

Chapter 2 holds 414 sentences of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X), unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) by Marshall P. (Marshall Pinckney) [Editor] Wilder exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)?

Work through the 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 83 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)

Common questions about reading The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) by Marshall P. (Marshall Pinckney) [Editor] Wilder on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)?

Yes. All 2936 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #24434, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) take to read?

About 244 minutes of reading across 588 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X)

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Finding
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Items
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Through
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Index
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.