Chapter 2 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS. "Rupert!" Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper. Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast. Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
Chapter 2 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading “Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.”
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading “Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.”
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading “Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.”
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading “FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.”
possessive form of “ruby” — a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading “"Rupert!"”
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.”
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 “Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.”
the cardinal number that is the product of one hundred and five
In this reading “FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS.”
In this reading “Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.”
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 Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
ten 10s
From this reading FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
without rigidity
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
possessive form of “ruby” — a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading "Rupert!"
only a very short time before
From this reading Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Slowly Rupert turned the revolver from his breast.
up to a particular time
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
precisely as stated
From this reading Very slowly his arm dropped until it hung limply by his side.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading Ruby’s voice scarcely rose above a whisper.
Chapter 2 of Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin holds 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 117 sentences of Blackthorn Farm, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5795 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42519 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42519, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 482 minutes of reading across 1159 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blackthorn Farm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Blackthorn Farm 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 Blackthorn Farm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
