Chapter 2 of Theft: A Play In Four Acts is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Theft: A Play In Four Acts is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
{Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation. Take your daughter, for instance. Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities. {Starkweather} Has she given charity up? {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
Chapter 2 of Theft: A Play In Four Acts is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
plural of “charity” — a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
From this reading “Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.”
a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
From this reading “{Starkweather} Has she given charity up?”
all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
From this reading “{Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.”
plural of “kindergarten” — a preschool for children age 4 to 6 to prepare them for primary school
From this reading “{Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.”
a commissioned military officer
From this reading “Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.”
a town in central Vermont
From this reading “{Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.”
a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
From this reading “{Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.”
open and genuine; not deceitful
From this reading “Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.”
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.
in the past
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
plural of “charity” — a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
From this reading {Starkweather} Has she given charity up?
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
a female human offspring
From this reading Take your daughter, for instance.
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Take your daughter, for instance.
all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading {Starkweather} Has she given charity up?
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading {Starkweather} Has she given charity up?
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Take your daughter, for instance.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
plural of “kindergarten” — a preschool for children age 4 to 6 to prepare them for primary school
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
a commissioned military officer
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
above and across; more than
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
a town in central Vermont
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
open and genuine; not deceitful
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {Starkweather} Has she given charity up?
carry out
From this reading Take your daughter, for instance.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading {Starkweather} Has she given charity up?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading {Rutland} (_Shaking his head._) I cannot understand what is coming over the present generation.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading {Connie} It's settlement work, now, and kindergartens.
a late time of life
From this reading Ten years ago she was an earnest, sincere lieutenant of mine in all our little charities.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Take your daughter, for instance.
Chapter 2 of Theft: A Play In Four Acts by Jack London holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 445 sentences of Theft: A Play In Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Theft: A Play In Four Acts by Jack London exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Theft: A Play In Four Acts by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2971 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21936 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21936, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 595 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Theft: A Play In Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Theft: A Play In Four Acts 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 Theft: A Play In Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
