Chapter 2 of "This was a man" is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of "This was a man" is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal. EDWARD What does that matter? This situation could never happen to him. He wouldn’t let it. ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
Chapter 2 of "This was a man" is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading “ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.”
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading “EDWARD What does that matter?”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.”
come to pass
From this reading “This situation could never happen to him.”
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.”
plural of “miss” — a young female
From this reading “ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading “ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.”
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading “This situation could never happen to him.”
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.
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 ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading EDWARD What does that matter?
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading EDWARD What does that matter?
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
come to pass
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He wouldn’t let it.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading He wouldn’t let it.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading EDWARD What does that matter?
plural of “miss” — a young female
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading EDWARD What does that matter?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This situation could never happen to him.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading EDWARD What does that matter?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wouldn’t let it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ZOE You mustn’t place too much faith in the strong and silent, Edward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ZOE I should imagine he misses a good deal.
Chapter 2 of "This was a man" by Noël Coward holds 437 sentences, grouped into 88 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 437 sentences of "This was a man", unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of "This was a man" by Noël Coward exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 437 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 "This was a man" by Noël Coward 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 "This was a man" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of "This was a man" 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 "This was a man", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
