Chapter 2 of April Hopes is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of April Hopes is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him. “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute. You must go to your room now and get ready. You ought to have a little rest.” He broke out in his laugh.
Chapter 2 of April Hopes is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
lacking funds
From this reading “He broke out in his laugh.”
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.”
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading “Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “He broke out in his laugh.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading ““Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.”
past form of “remind” — put in the mind of someone
From this reading “Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.”
done under pressure
From this reading “Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.”
in a vivid manner
From this reading “Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.”
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 Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
lacking funds
From this reading He broke out in his laugh.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You ought to have a little rest.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He broke out in his laugh.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He broke out in his laugh.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He broke out in his laugh.
the sound of laughing
From this reading He broke out in his laugh.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading You ought to have a little rest.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading You ought to have a little rest.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He broke out in his laugh.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
past form of “remind” — put in the mind of someone
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading You ought to have a little rest.”
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
done under pressure
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
in a vivid manner
From this reading Mrs. Saintsbury, caught sight of them, and as if suddenly reminded of a forgotten duty, rushed vividly upon him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Mr. Mavering, I shall not let you stay with us another minute.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You must go to your room now and get ready.
Chapter 2 of April Hopes by William Dean Howells holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 407 sentences of April Hopes, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of April Hopes by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 April Hopes by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6976 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3404 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3404, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 581 minutes of reading across 1396 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through April Hopes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of April Hopes 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 April Hopes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
