Chapter 2 of Under Western Eyes is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Under Western Eyes is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him. It’s weary work.” Razumov had sunk into a chair. Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in. There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
Chapter 2 of Under Western Eyes is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading “His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.”
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading “His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.”
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading “Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.”
move hurridly
From this reading “Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.”
showing poise and confidence in your own worth
From this reading “His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “Razumov had sunk into a chair.”
plural of “thousand” — the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading “There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.”
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading “It’s weary work.””
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 His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Razumov had sunk into a chair.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Razumov had sunk into a chair.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Razumov had sunk into a chair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s weary work.”
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
a particular point in time
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Razumov had sunk into a chair.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
move hurridly
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
showing poise and confidence in your own worth
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
doomed to extinction
From this reading Razumov had sunk into a chair.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
plural of “thousand” — the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Every moment he expected a crowd of policemen to rush in.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading There must have been thousands of them out looking for that man walking up and down in his room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading It’s weary work.”
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading It’s weary work.”
an affirmative
From this reading His curt, self-confident voice suddenly lost its ring and it was in a dull tone that he added, “Yes, brother, I have killed him.
Chapter 2 of Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad holds 206 sentences, grouped into 42 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 206 sentences of Under Western Eyes, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 206 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8310 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2480 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2480, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1662 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under Western Eyes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Under Western Eyes 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 Western Eyes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
