Chapter 2 of Catherine's coquetries is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Catherine's coquetries is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ALTERCATION. Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier. As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man. His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death. But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
Chapter 2 of Catherine's coquetries is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
noisy quarrel
From this reading “THE ALTERCATION.”
first wife of Henry VIII; Henry VIII's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
From this reading “As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.”
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading “But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.”
past form of “lurk” — lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
From this reading “But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.”
procumbent or spreading juniper
From this reading “Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.”
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.”
arousing affect
From this reading “But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.”
the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)
From this reading “His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.”
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 “His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.”
In this reading “As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.”
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 Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.
noisy quarrel
From this reading THE ALTERCATION.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
the two together, not just one
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
first wife of Henry VIII; Henry VIII's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
past form of “lurk” — lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
as might be expected
From this reading Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
many times at short intervals
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
procumbent or spreading juniper
From this reading Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ALTERCATION.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
arousing affect
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading But upon his lips one could have fancied there lurked a smile both touching and tender.
the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Savin Barrau was naturally a soldier.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading As Catherine was a beautiful woman, so was Savin a distinguished-looking man.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading His regular-featured face wore an expression of hauteur and valor, as though he often had stood in the face of death.
Chapter 2 of Catherine's coquetries by Camille Debans holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 195 sentences of Catherine's coquetries, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Catherine's coquetries by Camille Debans exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Catherine's coquetries by Camille Debans on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70172 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70172, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 284 minutes of reading across 683 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Catherine's coquetries section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Catherine's coquetries 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 Catherine's coquetries, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
