Chapter 2 of You can't win is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of You can't win is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*. Do I look like one? I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror. I don’t see the face of a librarian. There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
Chapter 2 of You can't win is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.”
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.”
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “There is no smooth, high, white forehead.”
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “There is no smooth, high, white forehead.”
a professional person trained in library science and engaged in library services
From this reading “I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.”
polished surface that forms images by reflecting light
From this reading “I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.”
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading “There is no smooth, high, white forehead.”
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading “I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.”
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 “There is no smooth, high, white forehead.”
In this reading “I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.”
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 I don’t see the face of a librarian.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do I look like one?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t see the face of a librarian.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading I don’t see the face of a librarian.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
a professional person trained in library science and engaged in library services
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Do I look like one?
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Do I look like one?
polished surface that forms images by reflecting light
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
not any; not one
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Do I look like one?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I don’t see the face of a librarian.
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I am now librarian of the *San Francisco Call*.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading I turn my chair so I can look in the mirror.
a Caucasian
From this reading There is no smooth, high, white forehead.
Chapter 2 of You can't win by Jack Black holds 94 sentences, grouped into 19 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 94 sentences of You can't win, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of You can't win by Jack Black exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 94 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 You can't win by Jack Black on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through You can't win section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of You can't win 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 You can't win, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
