Chapter 2 of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BREAD AND MILK. "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason." WORDSWORTH. Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion. Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
Chapter 2 of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 disorderly outburst or tumult
From this reading “Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.”
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading “"Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."”
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading “BREAD AND MILK.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.”
not often
From this reading “Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.”
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading “"Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."”
plural of “truth” — a fact that has been verified
From this reading “"Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."”
a romantic English poet whose work was inspired by the Lake District where he spent most of his life (1770-1850)
From this reading “WORDSWORTH.”
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 Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading BREAD AND MILK.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
From this reading BREAD AND MILK.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
exercising caution or showing care or attention
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
a disorderly outburst or tumult
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading BREAD AND MILK.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
not often
From this reading Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
on the contrary
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
express in speech
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
plural of “truth” — a fact that has been verified
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nurse was ill, which, old as she, too, was, rarely happened.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
the words that are spoken
From this reading "Words which tenderness can speak From the truths of homely reason."
a romantic English poet whose work was inspired by the Lake District where he spent most of his life (1770-1850)
From this reading WORDSWORTH.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Grandmamma would probably have spoken to Nurse the next day about being careful as to what she said before the children, had not the next day brought rather a commotion.
Chapter 2 of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story by Mrs. Molesworth holds 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 162 sentences of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 "Us," An Old Fashioned Story by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2556 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16954 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16954, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 213 minutes of reading across 512 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through "Us," An Old Fashioned Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of "Us," An Old Fashioned Story 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 "Us," An Old Fashioned Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
