Chapter 2 of Toying with fate is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Toying with fate is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN. “Move on, old man, and go home!” It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words. “Home! I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
Chapter 2 of Toying with fate is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
superlative of “fine” — being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.”
enclose in or as if in a frame
From this reading “I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.”
a member of a police force
From this reading “I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.”
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading “It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.”
shake, as from cold
From this reading “I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.”
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading “It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.”
communicated in words
From this reading “It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.”
possessive form of “york” — the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
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.
a man who is very old
In this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN.”
In this reading “It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.”
apply thoroughly; think through
In this reading “I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.”
return home
In this reading ““Move on, old man, and go home!””
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
In this reading ““Move on, old man, and go home!””
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 I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Move on, old man, and go home!”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
superlative of “fine” — being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
enclose in or as if in a frame
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Move on, old man, and go home!”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “Move on, old man, and go home!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Move on, old man, and go home!”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
of an obscure nature
From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Move on, old man, and go home!”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
a member of a police force
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
shake, as from cold
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
communicated in words
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
in or at the place that
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading I wonder where it is?” muttered the old man to whom the policeman had spoken, and a shudder ran through his frame, as he slowly moved down the street.
the words that are spoken
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
possessive form of “york” — the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading It was the stern voice of one of New York’s finest policemen that uttered these words.
Chapter 2 of Toying with fate by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 135 sentences of Toying with fate, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Toying with fate by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Toying with fate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
