Chapter 2 of What We Saw in Egypt is here in full — 60 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of What We Saw in Egypt is here in full — 60 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO. Alas! for the news which greeted us. The hotel was full! The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before. What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
Chapter 2 of What We Saw in Egypt is here in full — 60 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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 town in Louisiana on the Red River
From this reading “The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.”
a town at the southern tip of Illinois at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
From this reading “THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.”
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.”
covered with water
From this reading “What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.”
traveling or passing over land
From this reading “The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.”
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading “The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.”
-ing form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.”
plural of “traveller” — a person who changes location
From this reading “What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.”
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 “THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.”
In this reading “What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.”
In this reading “What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.”
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.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas! for the news which greeted us.
a town in Louisiana on the Red River
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
a town at the southern tip of Illinois at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
From this reading THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Alas! for the news which greeted us.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading The hotel was full!
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading Alas! for the news which greeted us.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading The hotel was full!
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
information about recent and important events
From this reading Alas! for the news which greeted us.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
covered with water
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
traveling or passing over land
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading The passengers by the overland mail from Alexandria had arrived the afternoon before.
-ing form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FIRST NIGHT IN CAIRO.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
plural of “traveller” — a person who changes location
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Alas! for the news which greeted us.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The hotel was full!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Alas! for the news which greeted us.
in the company of; together with
From this reading What with their number, and with travellers staying in the house, it was full to overflowing.
Chapter 2 of What We Saw in Egypt by Anonymous holds 60 sentences, grouped into 12 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 60 sentences of What We Saw in Egypt, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of What We Saw in Egypt by Anonymous exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 60 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 What We Saw in Egypt by Anonymous on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1227 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32720 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32720, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 102 minutes of reading across 246 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through What We Saw in Egypt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of What We Saw in Egypt 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 What We Saw in Egypt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
