Chapter 2 of The wrong letter is here in full — 509 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The wrong letter is here in full — 509 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard. He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important. Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver. A woman’s voice spoke. “Is that Scotland Yard?”
Chapter 2 of The wrong letter is here in full — 509 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/101 · 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.
having the place or position changed
From this reading “He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading “Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.”
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
From this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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.
electric bell that rings to signal a call
In this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
take and lift upward
In this reading “Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.”
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.”
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 He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
having the place or position changed
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
apart from; not including
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
of great significance or value
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is that Scotland Yard?”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading A woman’s voice spoke.
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Putting down a paper he had been reading, he picked up the receiver.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading A woman’s voice spoke.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was a busy man, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed except on matters important.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A woman’s voice spoke.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading The Crime The telephone bell rang on the table of Superintendent Sinclair at Scotland Yard.
Chapter 2 of The wrong letter by Walter S. (Walter Sidney) Masterman holds 509 sentences, grouped into 102 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 509 sentences of The wrong letter, unabridged, divided into 102 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The wrong letter by Walter S. (Walter Sidney) Masterman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 509 sentences, grouped into 102 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 102 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 102 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 wrong letter by Walter S. (Walter Sidney) Masterman 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 wrong letter section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The wrong letter 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 wrong letter, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
