Chapter 2 of A Virgin Heart: A Novel is here in full — 296 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Virgin Heart: A Novel is here in full — 296 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias. The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries. She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed. M. Hervart looked-up. "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
Chapter 2 of A Virgin Heart: A Novel is here in full — 296 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
plural of “bramble” — any of various rough thorny shrubs or vines
From this reading “The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.”
past form of “display” — to show, make visible or apparent
From this reading “She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.”
the act of consuming food
From this reading “The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.”
an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip
From this reading “"You've got a moustache as well," he said.”
a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
From this reading “The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.”
extremely harmful; bringing physical or financial ruin
From this reading “The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.”
usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence
From this reading “The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.”
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 girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.”
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 The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
plural of “bramble” — any of various rough thorny shrubs or vines
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
past form of “display” — to show, make visible or apparent
From this reading She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.
the act of consuming food
From this reading The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.
a young female
From this reading The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M. Hervart looked-up.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M. Hervart looked-up.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M. Hervart looked-up.
an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
From this reading The girl was leaning on the Parapet, eating mulberries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.
extremely harmful; bringing physical or financial ruin
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She displayed her purple-stained hands and laughed.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The terrace was in a ruinous state, over-grown with grass and brambles and acacias.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You've got a moustache as well," he said.
Chapter 2 of A Virgin Heart: A Novel by Remy de Gourmont holds 296 sentences, grouped into 60 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 296 sentences of A Virgin Heart: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Virgin Heart: A Novel by Remy de Gourmont exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 296 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 Virgin Heart: A Novel by Remy de Gourmont on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3062 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44384 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44384, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 613 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Virgin Heart: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of A Virgin Heart: 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 Virgin Heart: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
