Chapter 2 of A Life Sentence: A Novel is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Life Sentence: A Novel is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door. Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert. "He is there," she said--"he is coming in. The London papers will arrive in half an hour. Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
Chapter 2 of A Life Sentence: A Novel is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “The London papers will arrive in half an hour.”
past form of “fumble” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading “At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."”
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading “Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."”
fasten with a lock
From this reading “At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.”
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading “The London papers will arrive in half an hour.”
mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind
From this reading “Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.”
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 “Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.”
In this reading “At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.”
In this reading “At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.”
In this reading “At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.”
In this reading “The London papers will arrive in half an hour.”
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 At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading "He is there," she said--"he is coming in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
past form of “fumble” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He is there," she said--"he is coming in.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "He is there," she said--"he is coming in.
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
go away from a place
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
fasten with a lock
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.
a particular point in time
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
information about recent and important events
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "He is there," she said--"he is coming in.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He is there," she said--"he is coming in.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "He is there," she said--"he is coming in.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Hubert, don't leave him to learn the news from the papers or from his London lawyer."
mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind
From this reading Miss Vane glanced apprehensively at Hubert.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The London papers will arrive in half an hour.
in the company of; together with
From this reading At that moment a heavy step was heard in the hall, a hand fumbled with the lock of the door.
Chapter 2 of A Life Sentence: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 135 sentences of A Life Sentence: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Life Sentence: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 A Life Sentence: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9266 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31984 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31984, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Life Sentence: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of A Life Sentence: A Novel 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 A Life Sentence: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
