Chapter 2 of Children of loneliness is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Children of loneliness is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother. A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell. “To think that I was born of these creatures! It’s an insult to my soul. What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
Chapter 2 of Children of loneliness is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 “century” — a period of 100 years
From this reading “A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.”
a deep opening in the earth's surface
From this reading “A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.”
United States actress noted for her performances in Broadway plays (1893-1974)
From this reading “A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.”
in a heated manner
From this reading “The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.”
a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character
From this reading “What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?”
plural of “lump” — a compact mass
From this reading “What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?”
an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear
From this reading “What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?”
past form of “surge” — rise and move, as in waves or billows
From this reading “The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.”
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 “A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.”
In this reading “A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.”
In this reading “The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.”
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 A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It’s an insult to my soul.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
brought into existence
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
plural of “century” — a period of 100 years
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
a deep opening in the earth's surface
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
United States actress noted for her performances in Broadway plays (1893-1974)
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
plural of “creature” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
in a heated manner
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
the lack of knowledge or education
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
a rude expression intended to offend or hurt
From this reading It’s an insult to my soul.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s an insult to my soul.
a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
plural of “lump” — a compact mass
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It’s an insult to my soul.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
being or feeling set or kept apart from others
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading It’s an insult to my soul.
an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
past form of “surge” — rise and move, as in waves or billows
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The girl’s thoughts surged hotly as she glanced from her father to her mother.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “To think that I was born of these creatures!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
in the company of; together with
From this reading What kinship have I with these two lumps of ignorance and superstition?
a late time of life
From this reading A chasm of four centuries could not have separated her more completely from them than her four years at Cornell.
Chapter 2 of Children of loneliness by Anzia Yezierska holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 425 sentences of Children of loneliness, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Children of loneliness by Anzia Yezierska exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Children of loneliness by Anzia Yezierska on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4205 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71361 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71361, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 350 minutes of reading across 841 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Children of loneliness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Children of loneliness 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 Children of loneliness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
