Chapter 2 of Christmas at Thompson Hall is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Christmas at Thompson Hall is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. BROWN’S FAILURE. With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333. She had been determined all through not to forget that. Then she turned the latch and crept in.
Chapter 2 of Christmas at Thompson Hall is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
possessive form of “brown” — an orange of low brightness and saturation
an onerous or difficult concern
From this reading “With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “Then she turned the latch and crept in.”
characterized by great determination
From this reading “She had been determined all through not to forget that.”
an act that fails
From this reading “BROWN’S FAILURE.”
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading “With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.”
fasten with a latch
From this reading “Then she turned the latch and crept in.”
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 “With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.”
enter surreptitiously
In this reading “Then she turned the latch and crept in.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then she turned the latch and crept in.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
possessive form of “brown” — an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading BROWN’S FAILURE.
an onerous or difficult concern
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading Then she turned the latch and crept in.
characterized by great determination
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
the organ of sight
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
an act that fails
From this reading BROWN’S FAILURE.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then she turned the latch and crept in.
fasten with a latch
From this reading Then she turned the latch and crept in.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
not in physical motion
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she turned the latch and crept in.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had been determined all through not to forget that.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Then she turned the latch and crept in.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With her eye still fixed upon her burden, she glanced up at the number of the door--333.
Chapter 2 of Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 128 sentences of Christmas at Thompson Hall, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 864 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58558 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58558, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 72 minutes of reading across 173 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas at Thompson Hall section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Christmas at Thompson Hall 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 Christmas at Thompson Hall, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
