Chapter 2 of Under Blanco's eye is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Under Blanco's eye is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Stop!” A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana. “Hold on!” Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly. At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
Chapter 2 of Under Blanco's eye is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
-ing form of “border” — extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle
From this reading “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
jostling with the elbows
From this reading “Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.”
characterized by intense emotion
From this reading “At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:”
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
From this reading “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
the capital and largest city of Cuba; located in western Cuba; one of the oldest cities in the Americas
From this reading “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eighteen and one
From this reading “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
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 “A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.”
In this reading “At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:”
hold firmly
In this reading ““Hold on!””
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 A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
-ing form of “border” — extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
a youthful male person
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
naturally having skin of a dark color
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
being one more than seventeen
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
jostling with the elbows
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
characterized by intense emotion
From this reading At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
the capital and largest city of Cuba; located in western Cuba; one of the oldest cities in the Americas
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “Hold on!”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eighteen and one
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Hold on!”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
done under pressure
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Stop!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
the upper part of anything
From this reading At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
a formal word for “on”
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading At the top of his voice came the fervent appeal:
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned crowd, he reached the string-piece, now waving his arms wildly.
a late time of life
From this reading A boy of some eighteen or nineteen years rushed frantically out upon a wharf bordering the harbor of Havana.
Chapter 2 of Under Blanco's eye by Douglas Wells holds 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 143 sentences of Under Blanco's eye, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Under Blanco's eye by Douglas Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 Under Blanco's eye by Douglas Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1531 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #68379 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #68379, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 127 minutes of reading across 307 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under Blanco's eye section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Under Blanco's eye 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 Under Blanco's eye, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
