Chapter 2 of Uncanny Stories is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Uncanny Stories is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She stood up and went towards him. He still waited. He didn’t move to make way for her. She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct. She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
Chapter 2 of Uncanny Stories is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 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 relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading “She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.”
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading “She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.”
plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading “She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.”
not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
From this reading “She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.”
an annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance
From this reading “She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.”
possessive form of “wade” — English tennis player who won many women's singles titles (born in 1945)
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “He still waited.”
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.
In this reading “She stood up and went towards him.”
nearly do something
In this reading “She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.”
In this reading “She stood up and went towards him.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
at any time
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
set up or found
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He still waited.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
engage in
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
an annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
not in physical motion
From this reading He still waited.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She came close, closer than she had ever come to him, so close that his features grew indistinct.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
in the direction of
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
possessive form of “wade” — English tennis player who won many women's singles titles (born in 1945)
From this reading She bent her head back, peering, short-sightedly, and found herself looking into Oscar Wade’s face.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading He still waited.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading He didn’t move to make way for her.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She stood up and went towards him.
Chapter 2 of Uncanny Stories by May Sinclair holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Uncanny Stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Uncanny Stories by May Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Uncanny Stories by May Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4869 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59165 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59165, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Uncanny Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Uncanny Stories 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 Uncanny Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
