Chapter 2 of Thoroughbreds is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Thoroughbreds is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“But I like her,” a baritone voice answered. “She looks a rattlin' filly.” “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in. “You're a fair judge, Ned. But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
Chapter 2 of Thoroughbreds is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
a male singer
From this reading ““But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.”
someone who is a detective
From this reading “But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.””
have supper; eat dinner
From this reading ““You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.”
a young female horse under the age of four
From this reading ““She looks a rattlin' filly.””
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading ““You're a fair judge, Ned.”
the greatest possible degree of something
From this reading “But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.””
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading ““You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading ““She looks a rattlin' filly.””
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 “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
Having no one else present.
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
a male singer
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
someone who is a detective
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
have supper; eat dinner
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
one or the other of two
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading “You're a fair judge, Ned.
a young female horse under the age of four
From this reading “She looks a rattlin' filly.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “You're a fair judge, Ned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
go away from a place
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
the greatest possible degree of something
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “She looks a rattlin' filly.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
participate in games or sport
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She looks a rattlin' filly.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She looks a rattlin' filly.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading But Dick told me to go the limit on Lauzanne, and to leave the filly alone.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “But I like her,” a baritone voice answered.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You're a fair judge, Ned.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
slice of sweet raised bread baked again until it is brown and hard and crisp
From this reading “You'll dine off zwieback and by your lonely, Ned, if you play horses on their looks--” “Or women either,” the baritone cut in.
Chapter 2 of Thoroughbreds by William Alexander Fraser holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Thoroughbreds, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Thoroughbreds by William Alexander Fraser exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Thoroughbreds by William Alexander Fraser on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6516 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9088 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9088, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 543 minutes of reading across 1304 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thoroughbreds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Thoroughbreds 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 Thoroughbreds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
